Unveiling the microstructural evolution and interaction mechanisms for twisted structures

•Twisting enhances the ductility by inhibiting the elongation of helical filaments.•Analytical solutions develop to describe the interaction between layers.•Stretching can more significantly densify the fiber than free-twisting.•Binormal force contributes little to the axial stretching of twisted structure. Twisting plays an important role in fabricating twisted actuators and energy harvesters, which require excellent microstructural deformation and interaction properties between different layers. However, the cross-layer microstructural evolution and interaction mechanism of helical structures under twisting and stretching are still unclear. Herein, a multi-layer model is established to theoretically investigate the response of the filaments under twisting and stretching. The results quantitatively indicate that the filaments with a higher twist have more structural evolution and less elongation deformation in the tensile process, which contributes to the increase of ductility. The evolution of the helical angle is also verified by in-situ experiments and finite element simulations. Besides, a theoretical method is provided for investigating the mechanical behavior of anisotropic twisted fibers, and the contact pressure is also promoted to understand the twisting-induced densification. The interlayer extrusion reveals that appropriate stretching of twisted fiber is an effective way to densify the loose fibers, and it also provides the theoretical reason for twisting and stretching simultaneously when wringing out a wet towel. We believe that this work would shed light on the interaction mechanism of twisted filaments and provide mechanistic insights into the twisting design of multi-layer helical structures. [Display omitted]