Mechanical properties of subisostatic random networks composed of nonlinear fibers

Fibrous protein networks provide structural integrity to different biological materials such as soft tissues. These networks display an unusual exponential strain-stiffening behavior when subjected to mechanical loads. This nonlinear strain-stiffening behavior has so far been explained in terms of the network microstructure and the flexibility of constituting fibers. Here, we conduct a comprehensive computational study to characterize the importance of material properties of individual fibers in the overall nonlinear mechanical response of random fiber networks. To this end, we consider three nonlinear material models, ranging from an almost linear form to a highly nonlinear one, for the fibers of subisostatic disordered networks. We characterize the amount of strain-stiffening as a function of bending rigidity of the fibers, the amount of nonlinearity of the fibers, and the connectivity of random networks. We find that networks composed of highly nonlinear fibers exhibit much more strain-stiffening than networks made up of linear fibers. Furthermore, the local strain distribution becomes more homogenous as the amount of nonlinearity in the material models increases. Increasing the network connectivity signifies the importance of the nonlinear material response of individual fibers in the overall mechanical behavior of networks. The constitutive behavior of fibers plays an important role in defining the failure response of networks particularly in the damage initiation and evolution. These important findings for how the mechanical response of individual fibers affects the overall mechanical properties of random networks could find applications in designing new biomimetic materials and could help scientists better understand the mechanical properties of biological materials.