A Computational Method to Simulate Electrostatic Actuation in Polycatenated Architected Materials

Abstract

A novel class of polycatenated architected materials (PAMs) has recently emerged, exhibiting distinctive mechanical properties such as stress-strain hysteresis and a geometry-driven transition between solid-like and fluid-like behavior. Although finite element models exist for conventional PAMs, none currently account for electrostatic effects. Here, we propose and qualitatively validate a computational framework to simulate the structure, dynamics, and mechanical response of electrostatically charged PAMs. Our approach successfully reproduces electrostatic actuation in close agreement with experiments, and reveals that electrostatic charges enable a reversible fluid-to-solid transition while also providing a means to estimate electrostatic stiffness. Notably, stiffness enhancements of up to sevenfold are achieved upon charging. This work expands the design space of PAMs and offers a predictive tool for actively controllable mechanical metamaterials.