Rheology and Flow of Soft Materials

Earth materials are akin to living organisms. They have evolved over millions of years, developing unique mechanical properties through nature's architected design. Their microstructure governs important functions such as soil stability, carbon sequestration, groundwater storage, and nutrient delivery. As we seek sustainable, and resilient materials, the complex composition (colloidal particles, polymers, and microbes) and the mechanical properties of natural materials offer inspiration. Here, I present three areas where we have successfully generated materials-mechanics frameworks using materials geomimicry. First, I will demonstrate a geoinspired soft particulate 'Soft Earth' system that exhibits interaction-controlled brittle-ductile failure transition. Second, I will elaborate on a multiscale mechanical framework towards geoinspired sustainable materials design, using baseball's rubbing mud as our model system. Third, I will conclude with a scalable rheological framework to design shock-absorbing materials. This is just the beginning. There are countless geomaterials present in nature, waiting to be explored. I believe that this emerging area will serve as a platform to generate design principles for engineering resilient and sustainable materials for climate change mitigation and adaptation.