Related papers: Nonlinear geometric effects in mechanical bistable…
Snap-buckling is a rapid shape transition in slender structures, appearing as a fundamental switching mechanism of natural and man-made systems. Boundary conditions of structures are crucial to predict and control their snap-buckling…
We introduce a high-throughput platform that enables simultaneous, parallel testing of six bistable beams via programmable motion of a rotating disk. By prescribing harmonic angular dynamics, the platform explores the phase space of angular…
Auxetic materials become thicker rather than thinner when stretched, exhibiting an unusual negative Poisson's ratio well suited for designing shape transforming metamaterials. Current auxetic designs, however, are often monostable and…
In this article, we investigate the effects of the interplay between quadratic and cubic nonlinearities on the propagation of elastic waves in periodic waveguides. Through this framework, we unveil an array of wave control strategies that…
Thermal fluctuations strongly modify the large length-scale elastic behavior of crosslinked membranes, giving rise to scale-dependent elastic moduli. While thermal effects in flat membranes are well understood, many natural and artificial…
The elastocapillary instability of a flexible plate plunged in a liquid bath is analysed theoretically. We show that the plate can bend due to two separate destabilizing mechanisms, when the liquid is partially wetting the solid. For…
Shell buckling is central in many biological structures and advanced functional materials, even if, traditionally, this elastic instability has been regarded as a catastrophic phenomenon to be avoided for engineering structures. Either way,…
Large deformations play a central role in the shape transformations of slender active and biological structures. A classical example is the eversion of the Volvox embryo, which demonstrates the need for shell theories that can describe…
Induced by proteins within the cell membrane or by differential growth, heating, or swelling, spontaneous curvatures can drastically affect the morphology of thin bodies and induce mechanical instabilities. Yet, the interaction of…
The range of existence and the properties of two essentially different chaotic attractors found in a model of nonlinear convection-driven dynamos in rotating spherical shells are investigated. A hysteretic transition between these…
Orthotropic shell structures are ubiquitous in biology and engineering, from bacterial cell walls to reinforced domes. We present a rescaling transformation that maps an orthotropic shallow shell to an isotropic one with a different local…
Budiansky's nonlinear shell theory is particularized to a 2D setting, and thereupon generalized to a fully nonlinear, statically and kinematically exact, theory of strain-gradient elasticity of beams. The governing equations are displayed…
A micrometer-scale elastic shell immersed in a nematic liquid crystal may be deformed by the host if the cost of deformation is comparable to the cost of elastic deformation of the nematic. Moreover, such inclusions interact and form chains…
Topological defects are crucial to the thermodynamics and structure of condensed matter systems. For instance, when incorporated into crystalline membranes like graphene, disclinations with positive and negative topological charge…
We study the defect-induced nonlinear transmission of a periodic structure created by alternating slabs of two materials with positive and negative refractive index. We demonstrate bistable switching and tunable nonlinear transmission in a…
In this work, we construct an effective continuum model for architected sheets that are composed of bulky tiles connected by slender elastic joints. Due to their mesostructure, these sheets feature quasi-mechanisms -- low-energy local…
Surfaces and structures capable of multiple stable configurations have attracted growing interest for on-demand shape morphing. In this work, we consider an elastic compliant plate coupled to a two-dimensional foundation comprising an array…
The emergence of nematic order on deformable closed surfaces plays a pivotal role in the morphogenesis of active biological matter, such as the regeneration of Hydra. In this work, we present a continuum model that couples the…
A field-theoretical description of the behavior of disordered, elastically isotropic, compressible systems characterized by two order parameters at the bicritical and tetracritical points is presented. The description is performed in the…
Flexible slender structures such as rods, ribbons, plates, and shells exhibit extreme nonlinear responses bending, twisting, buckling, wrinkling, and self contact, that defy conventional simulation frameworks. Discrete Differential Geometry…