Related papers: Nonlinear viscoelasticity and generalized failure …
Two dimensional simulations of non-cohesive granular matter in a biaxial shear tester are discussed. The effect of particle elasticity on the mechanical behavior is investigated using two complementary distinct element methods (DEM): Soft…
We investigate the universality of entanglement kinetics in polymer melts. We compare predictions of a recently developed constitutive equation for disentanglement to molecular dynamics simulations of both united-atom polyethylene and…
Cytoskeletal gels are prototyped to reproduce the mechanical contraction of the cytoskeleton in-vitro. They are composed of a polymer network (backbone), swollen by the presence of a liquid solvent, and active molecules (molecular motors,…
The structural properties of a linear polymer and its evolution in time have a strong bearing on its anisotropic stress response. The mean-square bond length and mean bond angle are the critical parameters that influence the time-varying…
We consider a class of kinetic models for polymeric fluids motivated by the Peterlin dumbbell theories for dilute polymer solutions with a nonlinear spring law for an infinitely extensible spring. The polymer molecules are suspended in an…
We perform molecular-dynamics simulations for polymer melts of the coarse-grained polyvinyl alcohol model that crystallizes upon slow cooling. To establish the properties of its high temperature liquid state as a reference point, we…
A bonded particle model is used to explore how variations in the material properties of brittle, isotropic solids affect critical behavior in fragmentation. To control material properties, a new model is proposed which includes breakable…
We use molecular dynamics simulations of a model three-dimensional particulate gel, to investigate the linear viscoelastic response. The numerical simulations are combined with a novel test protocol (the optimally- windowed chirp or OWCh),…
This work is focused on the longtime behavior of a non linear evolution problem describing the vibrations of an extensible elastic homogeneous beam resting on a viscoelastic foundation with stiffness k>0 and positive damping constant.…
We present experiments and simulations on cyclically sheared colloidal gels, and probe their behaviour on several different length scales. The shearing induces structural changes in the experimental gel, changing particles' neighborhoods…
We use a combination of original light scattering techniques and particles with unique optical properties to investigate the behavior of suspensions of attractive colloids under gravitational stress, following over time the concentration…
Polymer glasses have numerous advantageous mechanical properties in comparison to other materials. One of the most useful is the high degree of toughness that can be achieved due to significant yield occurring in the material. Remarkably,…
The evolution of viscoelastic properties near the sol-gel transition is studied by performing oscillatory rheological measurements on two different types of systems: a colloidal dispersion and a thermo-responsive polymer solution under…
When a rigid object approaches a soft material in a viscous fluid, hydrodynamic stresses arise in the lubricated contact region and deform the soft material. The elastic deformation modifies in turn the flow, hence generating a…
Surface creasing in swelling polymer gels is commonly attributed to compressive strain or interlayer mismatch, yet its general control remains unclear. Here we show that solvent polymerization degree $N_{\rm s}$ provides an independent…
Solids subjected to repeated cycles of stress or deformation can fail after several cycles, a phenomenon termed fatigue failure. Although intensely investigated for a wide range of materials owing to its obvious practical importance, a…
The postulate of the existence of a jamming phase diagram (Liu and Nagel, Nature 396, 21 EP (1998aa)) provides a theoretical basis for the classification of a wide range of amorphous solids (colloidal, molecular and emulsion glasses,…
Soft jammed solids exhibit intriguing mechanical properties, while their linear response is elusive. In particular, foams and emulsions generally reveal anomalous viscous loss with the loss and storage modulus following $G^{\prime \prime}…
Combining direct computations with invariance arguments, Taylor's constitutive equation for an emulsion can be extrapolated to high shear rates. We show that the resulting expression is consistent with the rigorous limits of small drop…
Microgels are soft colloidal particles that, when dispersed in a solvent, swell and deswell in response to changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature, concentration, and $p$H. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we model bulk…