Related papers: Towards a soft magnetoelastic twist actuator

Soft, amorphous solids such as tissues, foams, and emulsions are composed of deformable particles. However, the effect of single-particle deformability on the collective behavior of soft solids is still poorly understood. We perform…

Flexible ferromagnetic rings are spin-chain magnets, in which the magnetic and mechanical subsystems are coupled. The coupling is achieved through the tangentially oriented anisotropy axis. The possibility to operate the mechanics of the…

The response of an oscillating granular damper to an initial perturbation is studied using experiments performed in microgravity and granular dynamics mulations. High-speed video and image processing techniques are used to extract…

We report extensive numerical simulations of different models of 2D polymer rings with internal elasticity. We monitor the dynamical behavior of the rings as a function of the packing fraction, to address the effects of particle deformation…

A layer of dielectric elastomer can be voltage actuated to behave as actuators, but needs to avoid the electromechanical instability of excessively thin down accompanied with electric breakdown. We develop a true method to analyze the…

One characteristic feature of soft matter systems is their strong response to external stimuli. As a consequence they are comparatively easily driven out of their ground state and out of equilibrium, which leads to many of their fascinating…

Mechanical metamaterials are architected manmade materials that allow for unique behaviors not observed in nature, making them promising candidates for a wide range of applications. Existing metamaterials lack tunability as their properties…

A cylindrical rubber fibre subject to twist will also elongate: a manifestation of Poynting's effect in large strain elasticity. Here, we construct an analogous treatment for an active rubber fibre actuated via an axisymmetric pattern of…

Active materials are capable of converting free energy into directional motion, giving rise to striking dynamical phenomena. Developing a general understanding of their structure in relation to the underlying non-equilibrium physics would…

Soft matter systems are common in nature and make up nearly all the essential components necessary for life, from cells to the organelles within those cells. The ability of these soft materials to deform is crucial for the proper…

We investigate dynamics of a self-propelled deformable particle under external field in two dimensions based on the model equations for the center of mass and a tensor variable characterizing deformations. We consider two kinds of external…

The description of the collective magnetorheological effect induced by magnetic field in magnetoactive elastomers is proposed. The condition of consistency is used between magnetic and mechanic momenta of forces exerted on magnetically…

Soft electrothermal actuators are of great interest in diverse application domains for their simplicity, compliance, and ease of control. However, the very nature of thermally induced mechanical actuation sets inherent operation…

This paper presents the design of a nonlinear control law for a typical electromagnetic actuator system. Electromagnetic actuators are widely implemented in industrial applications, and especially as linear positioning system. In this work,…

We introduce a contact law for the normal force generated between two contacting, elastically anisotropic bodies of arbitrary geometry. The only requirement is that their surfaces be smooth and frictionless. This anisotropic contact law is…

Deformations of conventional solids are described via elasticity, a classical field theory whose form is constrained by translational and rotational symmetries. However, flexible metamaterials often contain an additional approximate…

Magnetic gels are composite materials, consisting of a polymer matrix and embedded magnetic particles. Those are mechanically coupled to each other, giving rise to the magnetostrictive effects as well as to a controllable overall elasticity…

Adhesive forces are capable of deforming a soft elastic object when it comes in contact with a flat rigid substrate. The contact is in stable equilibrium if the total energy of the system arising from the elastic and surface forces exhibits…

We give a geometric interpretation of the soft elastic deformation modes of nematic elastomers, with explicit examples, for both uniaxial and biaxial nematic order. We show the importance of body rotations in this non-classical elasticity…

Soft robotics is a rapidly growing field that spans the fields of chemistry, materials science, and engineering. Due to the diverse background of the field, there have been contrasting naming schemes such as 'intelligent', 'smart' and…