Related papers: Smart helical structures inspired by the pellicle …
Inspired by recent experiments on the spatial organization of bacterial chromosomes, we consider a type of "bottle brush" polymer consisting of a flexible backbone chain, to which flexible side loops are connected. We show that such a model…
Colloidal particles dispersed in liquid crystals can form new materials with tunable elastic and electro-optic properties. In a periodic `blue phase' host, particles should template into colloidal crystals with potential uses in photonics,…
The Slinky is a well-known example of a highly flexible helical spring, exhibiting large, geometrically nonlinear deformations from minimal applied forces. By considering it as a system of coils that act to resist axial, shearing, and…
Helically coiled filaments are a frequent motif in nature. In situations commonly encountered in experiments coiled helices are squeezed flat onto two dimensional surfaces. Under such 2-D confinement helices form "squeelices" - peculiar…
Steady structures originating from dynamic self-assembly have begun to show their advantages in new generation materials, and pose challenges to equilibrium self-assembly. In view of the important role of confinement in self-assembly, here,…
The occurrence of coiled or helical morphologies is common in nature, from plant roots to DNA packaging into viral capsids, as well as in applications such as oil drilling processes. In many examples, chiral structures result from the…
Force-induced reversible transformations between coiled and normal polymorphs of bacterial flagella have been observed in recent optical-tweezer experiment. We introduce a discrete elastic rod model with two competing helical states…
Helical ribbons arise in many biological and engineered systems, often driven by anisotropic surface stress, residual strain, and geometric or elastic mismatch between layers of a laminated composite. A full mathematical analysis is…
We formulate a new geometrical string on the euclidean lattice. It is possible to find such spin systems with local interaction which reproduce the same surface dynamics.In the three-dimensional case this spin system is a usual Ising…
We systematically study phase transformations from one helical structure to another. Motivated in part by recent work that relates the presence of compatible interfaces with properties such as the hysteresis and reversibility of a phase…
Generic interactions e.g. the Coulomb or other long ranged radially symmetric repulsive interactions between monomers of bead-spring model of a semi-flexible polymer induce instabilities in a initially straight polymer chain to form long…
A typical protein structure is a compact packing of connected alpha-helices and/or beta-strands. We have developed a method for generating the ensemble of compact structures a given set of helices and strands can form. The method is tested…
Embedded vortices in turbulent wall-bounded flow over a flat plate, generated by a passive rectangular vane-type vortex generator with variable angle $\beta$ to the incoming flow in a low-Reynolds number flow ($Re=2600$ based on the inlet…
Manipulating the way in which colloidal particles self-organise is a central challenge in the design of functional soft materials. Meeting this challenge requires the use of building blocks that interact with one another in a highly…
Natural materials often feature a combination of soft and stiff phases, arranged to achieve excellent mechanical properties, such as high strength and toughness. Many natural materials have even independently evolved to have similar…
Self-assembly of structures from vertically aligned, charged dust particle bundles within a glass box placed on the lower, powered electrode of a RF GEC cell were produced and examined experimentally. Self-organized formation of…
Mechanical instabilities can be exploited to design innovative structures, able to change their shape in the presence of external stimuli. In this work, we derive a mathematical model of an elastic beam subjected to an axial force and…
Helices are not generic outcomes of polymer collapse. Collapsed conformations of semiflexible polymers with isotropic attractions typically form globules, toroids, or rod-like structures, as seen in simulations and described by…
Helical objects are often implemented in electronic or mechanical micro-systems, requiring a precise understanding of their mechanical properties. While helices formed by cylindrical filaments have been intensely investigated, little is…
Self-shaping of curved structures, especially those involving flexible thin layers, has attracted increasing attention because of their broad potential applications in e.g. nanoelectromechanical/micro-electromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS),…