Magnetically guided programmable thermomechanical protection enabled by biomimetic asymmetric design
- 1Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, Anhui, People’s Republic of China
- 2State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, People’s Republic of China
Abstract
Precision instruments operating in harsh environments require protective materials that can dissipate impact energy while resisting heat. However, actively tunable thermomechanical protection under coupled multiphysics conditions remains challenging. Inspired by shellfish and echinoderms, here we show that an asymmetrically engineered shear-stiffening gel (SSG) yields a Janus magnetorheological elastomer whose two faces mimic the brick-and-mortar architecture of shellfish and the impact-hardening behavior of echinoderms, respectively. Unlike single-modification anti-creep strategies of SSG that degrade shear-stiffening or severely increase initial modulus, our design achieves a 40-fold mechanical tunability, with the storage modulus ranging from 11.29 to 450.28 kPa, arising from the synergistic enhancement of strain-rate-dependent stiffening and magnetic interactions. The integration of magnetic and optical functions enables semiactive noncontact 2D-to-3D protection, achieving an 85% reduction in impact force and a 40 °C temperature difference via bidirectional photothermal regulation, demonstrating competitive thermomechanical protection performance. Furthermore, this strategy establishes a magnetically guided programmable pathway for thermomechanical protection and provides a generalizable blueprint for multifunctional intelligent materials, advancing protective technologies for outdoor equipment operating in extreme environments involving coupled physical fields.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026magnetically,
title = {{Magnetically guided programmable thermomechanical protection enabled by biomimetic asymmetric design}},
author = {Zimu Li and Jianfeng Huang and Sheng Wang and Jianpeng Wu and Shuai Liu and Zhihao Hu and Guilin Mei and Xinglong Gong},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2615691123},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2615691123},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Magnetically guided programmable thermomechanical protection enabled by biomimetic asymmetric design
AU - Zimu Li
AU - Jianfeng Huang
AU - Sheng Wang
AU - Jianpeng Wu
AU - Shuai Liu
AU - Zhihao Hu
AU - Guilin Mei
AU - Xinglong Gong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2615691123
UR - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2615691123
AB - Precision instruments operating in harsh environments require protective materials that can dissipate impact energy while resisting heat. However, actively tunable thermomechanical protection under coupled multiphysics conditions remains challenging. Inspired by shellfish and echinoderms, here we show that an asymmetrically engineered shear-stiffening gel (SSG) yields a Janus magnetorheological elastomer whose two faces mimic the brick-and-mortar architecture of shellfish and the impact-hardening behavior of echinoderms, respectively. Unlike single-modification anti-creep strategies of SSG that degrade shear-stiffening or severely increase initial modulus, our design achieves a 40-fold mechanical tunability, with the storage modulus ranging from 11.29 to 450.28 kPa, arising from the synergistic enhancement of strain-rate-dependent stiffening and magnetic interactions. The integration of magnetic and optical functions enables semiactive noncontact 2D-to-3D protection, achieving an 85% reduction in impact force and a 40 °C temperature difference via bidirectional photothermal regulation, demonstrating competitive thermomechanical protection performance. Furthermore, this strategy establishes a magnetically guided programmable pathway for thermomechanical protection and provides a generalizable blueprint for multifunctional intelligent materials, advancing protective technologies for outdoor equipment operating in extreme environments involving coupled physical fields.
SN - 0027-8424
SN - 1091-6490
ER -