Snapping of hinged arches under displacement control: Strength loss and nonreciprocity

We investigate experimentally and numerically the response of hinged shallow arches subjected to a transverse midpoint displacement. We find that this simple system supports a rich set of responses, which, to date, have received relatively little attention. We observe not only the snapping of the arches to their inverted equilibrium configuration, but also an earlier dynamic transition from a symmetric to an asymmetric shape that results in a sudden strength loss. Moreover, we find that the response of plastically deformed arches is nonreciprocal with respect to the loading direction. Finally, we discover that, while elastically deformed arches always snap to the inverted stable configuration, for plastically deformed ones there is a critical rise below which the structures are monostable.