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Topological toughening mechanism of soft staggered composites
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DOI：10.1016/j.eml.2026.102473.png)
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Abstract
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Soft staggered composites inspired by brick-and-mortar architectures are widely used in flexible electronics and soft robotics, yet the physical origin of their fracture toughness under large deformation remains unresolved. Here we show that the fracture energy of soft staggered composites exhibits a pronounced peak as a non-monotonic function of structural topology. By combining a nonlinear shear-lag theory with high-resolution finite element simulations, we demonstrate that this toughness peak arises necessarily at a critical topological state where the dominant failure mode switches between soft-phase-dominated tearing and hard-phase fracture. We introduce an operational heterogeneity scale that characterizes the stability of the fracture process zone and reveals a fundamental trade-off between distributed energy dissipation and structural load bearing. Our results establish a topological principle for toughening in soft materials, providing deterministic design criteria for maximizing fracture resistance in flexible and stretchable devices.
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