Related papers: Damping by branching: a bioinspiration from trees
Strong Branching (SB) is a cornerstone of all modern branching rules used in the Branch-and-Bound (BnB) algorithm, which is at the center of Mixed-Integer Programming solvers. In its full form, SB evaluates all variables to branch on and…
In this paper we provide a thorough, rigorous theoretical framework to assess optimality guarantees of sampling-based algorithms for drift control systems: systems that, loosely speaking, can not stop instantaneously due to momentum. We…
We report on work towards flexible algorithms for solving decision problems represented as influence diagrams. An algorithm is given to construct a tree structure for each decision node in an influence diagram. Each tree represents a…
Adaptive structures are equipped with sensors and actuators to actively counteract external loads such as wind. This can significantly reduce resource consumption and emissions during the life cycle compared to conventional structures. A…
A tentative scaling theory is presented of a tree swaying in a turbulent wind. It is argued that the turbulence of the air within the crown is in the inertial regime. An eddy causes a dynamic bending response of the branches according to a…
Previous work indicates that tropical forest can exist as an alternative stable state to savanna. Therefore, perturbation by climate change or human impact may lead to crossing of a tipping point beyond which there is rapid forest dieback…
Transport networks are crucial to the functioning of natural systems and technological infrastructures. For flow networks in many scenarios, such as rivers or blood vessels, acyclic networks (i.e., trees) are optimal structures when…
Biological structural designs in nature, like hoof walls, horns, and antlers, can be used as inspiration for generating structures with excellent mechanical properties. A common theme in these designs is the small percent porosity in the…
A key feature of mechanical structures ranging from crumple zones in cars to padding in packaging is their ability to provide protection by absorbing mechanical energy. Designing structures to efficiently meet these needs has profound…
Biological membranes are host to proteins and molecules which may form domain-like structures resulting in spatially-varying material properties. Vesicles with such heterogeneous membranes can exhibit intricate shapes at equilibrium and…
In a supercritical branching particle system, the trimmed tree consists of those particles which have descendants at all times. We develop this concept in the superprocess setting. For a class of continuous superprocesses with Feller…
Branched structures that evolve over time critically determine the function of various natural and engineered systems, including growing vasculature, neural arborization, pulmonary networks such as lungs, river basins, power distribution…
Vibrating systems can respond to an infinite number of initial conditions and the overall dynamics of the system can be strongly affected by them. Therefore, it is of practical importance to have methods by which we can determine the…
Designing materials that can effectively and repeatedly absorb energy from unpredictable directions represents a grand challenge in modern engineering, crucial for applications from vehicle crashworthiness systems to personal protective…
We study the dynamical behavior of a single degree of freedom mechanical system with a particle damper. The particle (granular) damping was optimized for the primary system operating condition by using an appropriate gap size for a…
Robotic arms built from stiffness-adjustable, continuously bending segments serially connected with revolute joints have the ability to change their mechanical architecture and workspace, thus allowing high flexibility and adaptation to…
We use a minimal model for a dense suspension undergoing thickening and thinning to investigate microstructural changes in 2d simulations. Our simulations show that in steady flow the contact network contains distinct building blocks which…
A directed polymer is allowed to branch, with configurations determined by global energy optimization and disorder. A finite size scaling analysis in 2D shows that, if disorder makes branching more and more favorable, a critical transition…
We propose a method for deriving equivalent one-dimensional models for slender non-linear structures. The approach is designed to be broadly applicable, and can handle in principle finite strains, finite rotations, arbitrary cross-sections…
Liquid drops slide more slowly over soft, deformable substrates than over rigid solids. This phenomenon can be attributed to the viscoelastic dissipation induced by the moving wetting ridge, which inhibits a rapid motion, and is called…