Pattern switching in soft cellular solids under compression

It is becoming increasingly recognized that nonlinear phenomena give an opportunity to provide robust control of the properties of soft metamaterials. A class of elastic instabilities are discussed which arise when a soft cellular material is compressed. The global nature of the induced pattern switch makes it a prime candidate for controlling macroscopic photonic and auxetic properties of the material. We demonstrate the robustness of the phenomena using a range of soft materials and show how the shape of the repeat unit of the periodic pattern can be used to influence the global characteristics of the soft solid.