Related papers: Measuring nonlinear stresses generated by defects …

While amorphous materials are often approximated to have a statistically homogeneous atomic structure, they frequently exhibit localized structural heterogeneity that challenges simplified models. This study uses 4D scanning transmission…

The series of equilibrium states reached by disordered packings of rigid, frictionless discs in two dimensions, under gradually varying stress, are studied by numerical simulations. Statistical properties of trajectories in configuration…

When external stresses in a system - physical, social or virtual - are relieved through impulsive events, it is natural to focus on the attributes of these avalanches. However, during the quiescent periods in between, stresses may be…

Real-world solids, such as rocks, soft tissues, and engineering materials, are often under some form of stress. Most real materials are also, to some degree, anisotropic due to their microstructure, a characteristic often called the…

We study model near-critical polymer gelling systems made of gluten proteins dispersions stabilized at different distances from the gel point. We impose different shear rates and follow the time evolution of the stress. For sufficiently…

Thermal fluctuations, geometric exclusion, and external driving all govern the mechanical response of dense particulate suspensions. Here, we measure the stress-strain response of quasi-two-dimensional flow-stabilized microsphere heaps in a…

We use optical tweezers microrheology and fluorescence microscopy to apply nonlinear microscale strains to entangled and crosslinked actin networks, and measure the resulting stress and actin filament deformations. We couple nonlinear…

One of the fascinating properties of the new families of two-dimensional crystals is their high stretchability and the possibility to use external strain to manipulate, in a controlled manner, their optical and electronic properties. Strain…

We numerically investigate a colloidal particle driven through a colloidal crystal as a function of temperature. When the charge of the driven particle is larger or comparable to that of the colloids comprising the crystal, a local melting…

We investigate the response of a dense monodisperse quasi-two-dimensional (q2D) colloid suspension when a particle is dragged by a constant velocity optical trap. Consistent with microrheological studies of other geometries, the…

We derive exact probability distributions for the strain ($\epsilon$) at which the first stress drop event occurs in uniformly strained disordered crystals, with quenched disorder introduced through polydispersity in particle sizes. We…

We derive a non-linear one-dimensional (1d) strain gradient model predicting the necking of soft elastic cylinders driven by surface tension, starting from 3d finite-strain elasticity. It is asymptotically correct: the microscopic…

We study the two-dimensional (2D) shear flow of amorphous solids within variants of an elastoplastic model, paying particular attention to spatial correlations and time fluctuations of, e.g., local stresses. The model is based on the local…

Most of crystalline materials exhibit a hysteresis on their deformation curve when mechanically loaded in alternating directions. This Bauschinger effect is the signature of mechanisms existing at the atomic scale and controlling the…

Linear defects such as dislocations and disclinations in ordered materials attract foreign particles since they replace strong elastic distortions at the defect cores. In this work, we explore the behavior of isotropic droplets nucleating…

We consider a model dense colloidal dispersion at the glass transition, and investigate the connection between equilibrium stress fluctuations, seen in linear shear moduli, and the shear stresses under strong flow conditions far from…

Grain boundaries can block slip-band propagation and generate intense local stress and strain fields that influence subsequent deformation and damage initiation in polycrystalline metals. Conventional geometric criteria, such as Schmid…

Disclination configurations of a nematic liquid crystal are studied within a self-consistent molecular field theory. The theory is based on a tensor order parameter, and can accommodate anisotropic elastic energies without the known…

The progressive instability behaviour of compressed dry-stone rectangular pillars loaded with an eccentric load is assessed experimentally and compared with the theory. Photoelastic compression tests were designed and executed on…

Recent studies on confined crystals of charged colloidal particles are reviewed, both in equilibrium and out of equilibrium. We focus in particular on direct comparisons of experiments (light scattering and microscopy) with lattice sum…