Related papers: Deformation propagation in responsive polymer netw…
Propagation of a viscous fluid beneath an elastic sheet is controlled by local dynamics at the peeling front, in close analogy with the capillary-driven spreading of drops over a precursor film. Here we identify propagation laws for a…
A self-consistent model is developed to investigate attachment / detachment kinetics of two soft, deformable microspheres with irregular surface and coated with flexible binding ligands. The model highlights how the microscale binding…
We study the interaction of small hydrophobic particles on the surface of an ultra-soft elastic gel, in which a small amount of elasticity of the medium balances the weights of the particles. The excess energy of the surface of the deformed…
Colloidal gel networks are disordered elastic solids that can form even in extremely dilute particle suspensions. With interaction strengths comparable to the thermal energy, their stress-bearing network can locally restructure via breaking…
Polymerization and formation of crosslinked polymer networks are important processes in manufacturing, materials fabrication, and in the case of hydrated polymer networks, synthesis of biomedical materials, drug delivery, and tissue…
Diffusive transport of small molecules within the internal structures of biological and synthetic material systems is complex because the crowded environment presents chemical and physical barriers to mobility. We explored this mobility…
We study the elasticity of random stiff fiber networks. The elastic response of the fibers is characterized by a central force stretching stiffness as well as a bending stiffness that acts transverse to the fiber contour. Previous studies…
Double polymer networks exhibit a striking enhancement of toughness compared to single networks, yet the microscopic mechanisms governing stress redistribution, damage evolution, and fracture remain incompletely understood. Using…
Biopolymer Networks play an important role in coordinating and regulating collective cellular dynamics via a number of signaling pathways. Here, we investigate the mechanical response of a model biopolymer network due to the active…
In quasi-two-dimensional experiments with photoelastic particles confined to an annular region, an intruder constrained to move in a circular path halfway between the annular walls experiences stick-slip dynamics. We discuss the response of…
We introduce novel sets of measures with the goal of describing dynamical properties of force networks in dense particulate systems. The presented approach is based on persistent homology and allows for extracting precise, quantitative…
In a viscoelastic environment, the diffusion of a particle becomes non-Markovian due to the memory effect. An open question is to quantitatively explain how self-propulsion particles with directional memory diffuse in such a medium. Based…
Contagion processes have been proven to fundamentally depend on the structural properties of the interaction networks conveying them. Many real networked systems are characterized by clustered substructures representing either collections…
Due to their unique structural and mechanical properties, randomly-crosslinked polymer networks play an important role in many different fields, ranging from cellular biology to industrial processes. In order to elucidate how these…
As a granular material is compressed, the particles and forces within the system arrange to form complex heterogeneous structures. Force chains are a prime example and are thought to constrain bulk properties such as mechanical stability…
We consider the diffusion and spreading of chainlike molecules on solid surfaces. We first show that the steep spherical cap shape density profiles, observed in some submonolayer experiments on spreading polymer films, imply that the…
A priori assumption in micromechanical analysis of polymeric networks is that the constitutive polymer strands are of equal length. Monodisperse distribution of strands, however, is merely a simplifying assumption. In this paper, we relax…
Elastic deformation due to embedded fluidic networks is currently studied in the context of soft-actuators and soft-robotic applications. In this work, we analyze interaction between the elastic deflection of a slender beam and viscous flow…
Changes in the dynamics of supported polymer films in comparison to bulk materials involve a complex convolution of effects, such as substrate interactions, roughness and compliance, in addition to film thickness. We consider molecular…
Understanding the relationship between the microscopic structure and topology of a material and its macroscopic properties is a fundamental challenge across a wide range of systems. Here, we investigate the viscoelasticity of DNA nanostar…