Related papers: Cohesion-decohesion asymmetry in geckos
Customarily, in-plane auxeticity and synclastic bending behavior (i.e. out-of-plane auxeticity) are not independent, being the latter a manifestation of the former. Basically, this is a feature of three-dimensional bodies. At variance,…
Both legged locomotion and slithering motions typically utilize periodic gaits -- repeating cycles of body shape change that produce a net motion through the world. Legged locomotion can be viewed from the perspective of piece-wise contact…
Numerical models indicate that collective animal behaviour may emerge from simple local rules of interaction among the individuals. However, very little is known about the nature of such interaction, so that models and theories mostly rely…
Active fluids, such as cytoskeletal filaments, bacterial colonies and epithelial cell layers, exhibit distinctive orientational coherence, often characterized by nematic order and topological defects. By contrast, little is known about…
Using three-dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations, we investigate the erosion dynamics of a cohesive bed composed of wet spherical particles subjected to the shear flow of an overlying non-cohesive granular layer. Cohesion…
Alignment interactions in active matter are typically modeled as relaxational dynamics toward local consensus. In unbounded systems, this makes alignment effectively decoupled from local density and therefore unable to sustain self-confined…
Insects use flight muscles attached at the base of the wings to produce impressive wing flapping frequencies. The maximum power output of these flight muscles is insufficient to maintain such wing oscillations unless there is good elastic…
With the help of molecular dynamics simulations we study an ensemble of active dumbbells in purely repulsive interaction. We derive the phase diagram in the density-activity plane and we characterise the various phases with liquid, hexatic…
A phase field model is presented to investigate dislocation formation (coherency loss) and workhardening in two-phase binary alloys. In our model the elastic energy density is a periodic function of the shear and tetragonal strains, which…
Rigidity is an emergent property of materials - it is not a feature of individual components that comprise the structure, but instead arises from interactions between many constituent parts. Recently, it has been recognized that…
A continuum-based computational contact model is employed to study coupled adhesion and friction in gecko spatulae. Nonlinear finite element analysis is carried out to simulate spatula peeling from a rigid substrate. It is shown that the…
It is widely recognized in particle technology that adhesive powders show a wide range of different bulk behavior due to the peculiarity of the particle interaction. We use Discrete Element simulations to investigate the effect of contact…
Although typically possessing four limbs and short bodies, lizards have evolved a diversity of body plans, from short-bodied and fully-limbed to elongate and nearly limbless. Such diversity in body morphology is hypothesized as adaptations…
The impact of confinement on self-assembly of particles interacting with short-range attraction and long-range repulsion (SALR) potential is studied for thermodynamic states corresponding to local ordering of clusters or layers in the bulk.…
Unlike a helicopter, an insect can, in theory, use both lift and drag to stay aloft. Here we show that a dragonfly uses mostly drag to hover by employing asymmetric up and down strokes. Computations of a family of strokes further show that…
Entanglement between a quantum system and its environment leads to loss of coherence in the former. In general, the temporal fate of coherences is complicated. Here, we establish the connection between decoherence of a central system and…
The size and shape of a large variety of polymeric particles, including biological cells, star polymers, dendrimes, and microgels, depend on the applied stresses as the particles are extremely soft. In high-density suspensions these…
How can dense biological tissue maintain sharp boundaries between coexisting cell populations? We explore this question within a simple vertex model for cells, focusing on the role of topology and tissue surface tension. We show that the…
Active particle systems of interacting self-propelled particles offer a versatile framework for modeling complex systems. When employed to describe aspects of animal behavior, the complexity of animal movement and decision-making often…
Contact unit size reduction is a widely studied mechanism as a means to improve adhesion in natural fibrillar systems, such as those observed in beetles or geckos. However, these animals also display complex structural features in the way…