Related papers: Modeling flexoelectricity in soft dielectrics at f…
Soft porous materials, such as biological tissues and soils, are exposed to periodic deformations in a variety of natural and industrial contexts. The detailed flow and mechanics of these deformations have not yet been systematically…
We present a methodology to simulate the mechanics of knots in elastic rods using geometrically nonlinear, full three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis. We focus on the mechanical behavior of knots in tight configurations, for which…
We develop a lattice model for the splay flexoelectric effect in nematic liquid crystals. In this model, each lattice site has a spin representing the local molecular orientation, and the interaction between neighboring spins represents…
We develop a Landau theory for bend flexoelectricity in liquid crystals of bent-core molecules. In the nematic phase of the model, the bend flexoelectric coefficient increases as we reduce the temperature toward the nematic to polar phase…
Soft robots are robotic systems made of deformable materials and exhibit unique flexibility that can be exploited for complex environments and tasks. However, their control problem has been considered a challenging subject because they are…
The basic continuum model for polar fluids is deceptively simple. The free energy integral consists of four terms: The coupling of polarization to an external field, the electrostatic energy of the induced electric field interacting with…
This work concerns the continuum basis and numerical formulation for deformable materials with viscous dissipative mechanisms. We derive a viscohyperelastic modeling framework based on fundamental thermomechanical principles. Since most…
Elastomers are viscoelastic materials and their properties significantly depend on the loading rate. The actual stress experienced by these materials is the sum of equilibrium and dissipative (inelastic) terms. At very low loading rates we…
The recent discovery of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystalline phases marks a major breakthrough in soft matter research. An intermediate phase, often observed between the nonpolar and the ferroelectric nematic phase, shows a distinct…
The propagation front of a crack generates large strain gradients and it is therefore a strong source of gradient-induced polarization (flexoelectricity). Herein, we demonstrate that, in piezoelectric materials, a consequence of…
This study addresses the modelling of elastic bodies, particularly when the relaxed configuration is unknown or non-existent. We adopt the theory of initially stressed materials, incorporating the deformation gradient and stress state of…
In this work, the Cosserat formulation of geometrically exact beam dynamics is extended by adding the electric potential as an additional degree of freedom to account for the electromechanical coupling in the Dielectric Elastomer Actuators…
We show theoretically that flexoelectricity stabilizes blue phases in chiral liquid crystals. Induced internal polarization reduces the elastic energy cost of splay and bend deformations surrounding singular lines in the director field. The…
In this paper, we present a 2D numerical model developed to simulate the dynamics of soft, deformable particles. To accommodate significant particle deformations, the particle surface is represented as a narrow shell composed of mass points…
Two-dimensional sliding ferroelectrics, with their unique stacking degrees of freedom, offer a different approach to manipulate polarization by interlayer sliding. Bending sliding ferroelectrics inevitably leads to interlayer sliding…
Slender beams are often employed as constituents in engineering materials and structures. Prior experiments on lattices of slender beams have highlighted their complex failure response, where the interplay between buckling and fracture…
Soft materials including elastomers and gels are pervasive in biological systems and technological applications. Whereas it is known that intrinsic fracture energies of soft materials are relatively low, how the intrinsic fracture energy…
We extend the theory of structured deformations to the setting of linearized elasticity by providing an integral representation for the underlying energy that features bulk and surface contributions. Our derivation is obtained both via a…
We study slender, helical elastic rods subject to distributed forces and moments. Focussing on the case when the helix axis remains straight, we employ the method of multiple scales to systematically derive an 'equivalent-rod' theory from…
We report detailed theoretical investigations of the micro-mechanics and bulk elastic properties of composites consisting of randomly distributed stiff fibers embedded in an elastic matrix in two and three dimensions. Recent experiments…