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Ion exchange processes between an ion reservoir and a solid matrix are modeled under the assumption that near interface volumes reach equilibrium in a much faster time than the overall ion exchange process time while, in the bulk of the…
We derive a multiphysics model that accounts for network elasticity with spontaneous strains, swelling and nematic interactions in liquid crystal gels (LCGs). We discuss the coupling among the various physical mechanisms, with particular…
We characterize both analytically and numerically short-range forces between spatially diffuse interfaces in multi-phase-field models of polycrystalline materials. During late-stage solidification, crystal-melt interfaces may attract or…
Oscillations of free intracellular calcium concentration are thought to be important in the control of a wide variety of physiological phenomena, and there is long-standing interest in understanding these oscillations via the investigation…
During the life of animals, epithelial tissues undergo extensive deformations--first to form organs during embryogensis and later to preserve integrity and function in adulthood. To what extent these deformations resemble that of non-living…
Surface and interfacial energies play important roles in a number of instability phenomena in liquids and soft matters, but are rare to play a similar role in solids. Here we report a new type of mechanical instabilities that are controlled…
Soft solids with tunable mechanical response are at the core of new material technologies, but a crucial limit for applications is their progressive aging over time, which dramatically affects their functionalities. The generally accepted…
Liquid droplets on soft solids, such as soft polymeric gels, can induce substantial surface deformations, leading to the formation of wetting ridges at contact points. While these contact ridges have been shown to govern the rich surface…
Elastic interactions arising from a difference of lattice spacing between two coherent phases can have a strong influence on the phase separation (coarsening) of alloys. If the elastic moduli are different in the two phases, the elastic…
We consider both equilibrium and kinetic aspects of the phase separation (``thermal faceting") of thermodynamically unstable crystal surfaces into a hill--valley structure. The model we study is an Ising lattice gas for a simple cubic…
Non-equilibrium processes which convert chemical energy into mechanical motion enable the motility of organisms. Bundles of inextensible filaments driven by energy transduction of molecular motors form essential components of micron-scale…
Various biological and chemical processes lead to the nucleation and growth of non-wetting fluid bubbles within the pore space of a granular medium, such as the formation of gas bubbles in liquid-saturated lake-bed sediments. In…
Soft colloids allow to explore high density states well beyond random close packing. An important open question is whether softness controls the dynamics under these dense conditions. While experimental works reported conflicting results,…
Tribological phenomena are governed by combined effects of material properties, topology and surface-chemistry. We study the interplay of multiscale surface structures with molecular-scale interactions towards interpreting static frictional…
A new formulation of the Phase Field Crystal model is presented that is consistent with the necessary microscopic independence between the phase field, reflecting the broken symmetry of the phase, and both mass density and elastic…
The homeostasis of epithelial tissue relies on a balance between the self-renewal of stem cell populations, cellular differentiation, and loss. Although this balance needs to be tightly regulated to avoid pathologies, such as tumor growth,…
Much of the Earth was built by high-energy impacts of planetesimals and embryos, many of these impactors already differentiated, with metallic cores of their own. Geochemical data provide critical information on the timing of accretion and…
Frictional interfaces are abundant in natural and manmade systems and their dynamics still pose challenges of fundamental and technological importance. A recent extensive compilation of multiple-source experimental data has revealed that…
The electrolyte (comprising of solute ions and solvents) flow-through the porous media is frequently encountered in nature or in many engineering applications, such as the electrochemical systems, manufacturing of composites, oil…
The non-smooth dynamics is investigated for an elastic planar metainterface composed by two layers of buckling elements, each one allowing motion on one side only. Through the analogy between buckling and unilateral contact and by assuming…