Related papers: Shape programming lines of concentrated Gaussian c…
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are soft phase-changing solids that exhibit large reversible contractions upon heating, Goldstone-like soft modes and resultant microstructural instabilities. We heat a planar LCE slab to isotropic, clamp…
Programming the non-uniform growth of a responsive polymer gel has emerged as a powerful tool to shape sheets into prescribed three dimensional shapes. We demonstrate that shapes with zero Gaussian curvature, except at singularities,…
Curved structures in soft matter and biological systems commonly emerge as a result of self-assembly processes where building blocks aggregate in a controlled manner, giving rise to specific system structure and properties. Learning how to…
Conforming materials to rigid substrates with Gaussian curvature --- positive for spheres and negative for saddles --- has proven a versatile tool to guide the self-assembly of defects such as scars, pleats, folds, blisters, and liquid…
We investigate the nucleation, growth, and spatial organization of topological defects with a ribbon shaped elastic sheet which is stretched and twisted. Singularities are found to spontaneously arrange in a triangular lattice in the form…
When thermal energies are weak, two dimensional lamellar structures confined on a curved substrate display complex patterns arising from the competition between layer bending and compression in the presence of geometric constraints. We…
Using the theory of $\Gamma$-convergence, we derive from three-dimensional elasticity new one-dimensional models for non-Euclidean elastic ribbons, i.e. ribbons exhibiting spontaneous curvature and twist. We apply the models to…
In this paper we consider surfaces with one or two families of spherical curvature lines. We show that every surface with a family of spherical curvature lines can locally be generated by a pair of initial data: a suitable curve of Lie…
An elastomer swelling actuator deforms by absorbing a fluid, thus generating mechanical movement. We show that depositing small droplets of low molecular weight liquid crystal on liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) films leads to shape changes…
Disclinations in a 2D sheet create regions of Gaussian curvature whose inversion produces a reconfigurable surface with many distinct metastable shapes, as shown by molecular dynamics of a disclinated graphene monolayer. This material has a…
Liquid crystals with molecules constrained to the tangent bundle of a curved surface show interesting phenomena resulting from the tight coupling of the elastic and bulk free energies of the liquid crystal with geometric properties of the…
We consider planar liquid crystal elastomers: two dimensional objects made of anisotropic responsive materials, that upon activation remain flat however change their planar shape. We derive a closed form, analytical solution based on the…
Shells, when confined, can deform in a broad assortment of shapes and patterns, often quite dissimilar to what is produced by their flat counterparts (plates). In this work we discuss the morphological landscape of shells deposited on a…
Topological defects are a ubiquitous phenomenon in diverse physical systems. In nematic liquid crystals (LCs), they are dynamic, physicochemically distinct, sensitive to stimuli, and are thereby promising for a range of applications.…
We consider variational problems that model the bending behavior of curves that are constrained to belong to given hypersurfaces. Finite element discretizations of corresponding functionals are justified rigorously via Gamma-convergence.…
We use low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to study different orientations of single-layer graphene sheets on Ir(111). The most-abundant orientation has…
Liquid crystalline networks (LCNs) are stimuli-responsive materials formed from polymeric chains cross-linked with rod-like mesogenic segments, which, in the nematic phase, align along a non-polar director. A key characteristic of these…
The assembly of curved protein rods on fluid membranes is studied using implicit-solvent meshless membrane simulations. As the rod curvature increases, the rods on a membrane tube assemble along the azimuthal direction first and…
When a thin elastic sheet is confined to a region much smaller than its size the morphology of the resulting crumpled membrane is a network of straight ridges or folds that meet at sharp vertices. A virial theorem predicts the ratio of the…
Natural filaments, such as proteins, plant tendrils, octopus tentacles, and elephant trunks, can transform into arbitrary three-dimensional shapes that carry out vital functions. Their shape-morphing behavior arises from intricate…