Bending of bilayers with general initial shapes
Abstract
We present a simple discrete formula for the elastic energy of a bilayer. The formula is convenient for rapidly computing equilibrium configurations of actuated bilayers of general initial shapes. We use maps of principal curvatures and minimum-curvature direction fields to analyze configurations. We find good agreement between the computations and an approximate analytical solution for the case of a rectangular bilayer. For more general shapes (simple polyiamonds), we find a range of typical bending behaviors: overall bending directions along longest and shortest dimensions, inward bending at corners, curvature intensification near boundaries, and conical bending and partitioned bending zones in some cases.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1110.1007,
title = {Bending of bilayers with general initial shapes},
author = {Silas Alben},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1110.1007},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
32 pages, 16 figures, submitted to PRE