Related papers: The packing of granular polymer chains
A framework is presented for understanding the common character of proteins. Proteins are linear chain molecules. However, the simple model of a polymer viewed as spheres tethered together does not account for many of the observed…
In this chapter we review the rich behavior of polymer chains embedded in a quenched random environment. We first consider the problem of a Gaussian chain free to move in a random potential with short-ranged correlations. We derive the…
We study jamming in model freely rotating polymers as a function of chain length $N$ and bond angle $\theta_0$. The volume fraction at jamming, $\phi_J(\theta_0)$, is minimal for rigid-rod-like chains ($\theta_0 = 0$), and increases…
The dynamical response of a tethered semiflexible polymer with self-attractive interactions and subjected to an external force field is numerically investigated by varying stiffness and self-interaction strength. The chain is confined in…
The rich variety of densest columnar structures of identical hard spheres inside a cylinder can surprisingly be constructed from a simple and computationally fast sequential deposition of cylinder-touching spheres, if the cylinder-to-sphere…
Shape transformations of hairy nanoparticles under confinement are studied using molecular dynamic simulations. We discuss the behavior of these particles in slits with inert or attractive walls. We assume that only chain-wall interactions…
Granular media near jamming exhibit fascinating properties, which can be harnessed to create jammed-granulate metamaterials: materials whose characteristics arise not only from the shape and material properties of the particles at the…
We investigate the tight packing of nematic polymers inside a confining hard sphere. We model the polymer {\sl via} the continuum Frank elastic free energy augmented by a simple density dependent part as well as by taking proper care of the…
Granular materials such as sand, powders, foams etc. are ubiquitous in our daily life, as well as in industrial and geotechnical applications. Although these disordered systems form stable structures if unperturbed, in practice they do…
Microstructural dynamics in amorphous particle packings is commonly probed by quantifying particle displacements. While rigidity in particle packings emerges when displacement of particles are hindered, it is not obvious how the typically…
We introduce a class of models of semiflexible polymers. The latter are characterized by a strong rigidity, the correlation length associated to the gradient-gradient correlations, called the persistence length, being of the same order as…
Twisted and rope-like assemblies of filamentous molecules are common and vital structural elements in cells and tissue of living organisms. We study the intrinsic frustration occurring in these materials between the two-dimensional…
The shape of semiflexible polymer rings is studied over their whole range of flexibility. Investigating the joint distribution of asphericity and nature of asphericity as well as their respective averages we find two distinct shape regimes…
The requirement that packings of hard particles, arguably the simplest structural glass, cannot be compressed by rearranging their network of contacts is shown to yield a new constraint on their microscopic structure. This constraint takes…
We propose a simple friction model for isolated polymer chains on a solid substrate. The chains are pulled at constant velocity by one end, the other end can be trapped on the solid substrate on localised sites. We focus on the energy…
Packings of identical objects have fascinated both scientists and laymen alike for centuries, in particular the sphere packings and the packings of identical regular tetrahedra. Mathematicians have tried for centuries to determine the…
Packing is a complex phenomenon of prominence in many natural and industrial processes (liquid crystals, granular materials, infiltration, melting, flow, sintering, segregation, sedimentation, compaction, etc.). A variety of computational…
Dried droplets of polymer solutions of different molecular weights and concentrations leave various types of 'coffee-ring' patterns. These patterns are consequence of contact line motion. We have observed for very low molecular weight the…
Building structures with hierarchical order through the self-assembly of smaller blocks is not only a prerogative of nature, but also a strategy to design artificial materials with tailored functions. We explore in simulation the…
Soft or weakly-consolidated sand refers to porous materials composed of particles (or grains) weakly held together to form a solid but that can be easily broken when subjected to stress. These materials do not behave as conventional…