An emerging theme across many domains of science and engineering is materials that change shape, often dramatically. Determining their structure involves solving a shape optimization problem where a given energy functional is minimized with respect to the shape of the domain and auxiliary fields describing the structure. Such problems are very challenging to solve and there is a lack of suitable simulation tools that are both readily accessible and general purpose. To address this gap, we present Morpho, an open-source programmable environment, and demonstrate its versatility by showcasing three applications to different areas of soft matter - swelling hydrogels, complex fluids that form aspherical droplets, to soap films and membranes - and advise on broader uses.
@article{arxiv.2208.07859,
title = {Morpho -- A programmable environment for shape optimization and shapeshifting problems},
author = {Chaitanya Joshi and Daniel Goldstein and Cole Wennerholm and Eoghan Downey and Emmett Hamilton and Samuel Hocking and Anca Andrei and James H. Adler and Timothy J. Atherton},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.07859},
year = {2022}
}