Related papers: Simple generic picture of toughness in solid polym…
The collapse and swelling behavior of a generic homopolymer is studied using implicit-solvent, explicit-cosolvent Langevin dynamics computer simulations for varying interaction strengths. The systematic investigation reveals that polymer…
We investigate numerically the dynamics of a single polymer in a linear shear flow. The effects of thermal fluctuations and randomly fluctuating velocity gradients are both analyzed. Angular, elongation and tumbling time statistics are…
We investigate the shear elastic modulus of soft polymer foams loaded with hard spherical particles and we show that, for constant bubble size and gas volume fraction, strengthening is strongly dependent on the size of those inclusions.…
We present the most extensive direct numerical simulations, attempted so far, of statistically steady, homogeneous, isotropic turbulence in two-dimensional fluid films with air-drag-induced friction and with polymer additives. Our study…
Liquid mixtures of many interacting components often exhibit numerous coexisting types of droplets. An exciting example is the cytosol of biological cells, where diverse droplets, called condensates, are essential for cellular function.…
Recent developments of microscopic mechanical experiments allow the manipulation of individual polymer molecules in two main ways: \textit{uniform} stretching by external forces and \textit{non-uniform} stretching by external fields. Many…
This study uses a combination of stochastic optimization, statistical mechanical theory, and molecular simulation to test the extent to which the long-time dynamics of a single tracer particle can be enhanced by rationally modifying its…
We introduce two improvements in the numerical scheme to simulate collision and slow shearing of irregular particles. First, we propose an alternative approach based on simple relations to compute the frictional contact forces. The approach…
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…
The mechanical properties of a disordered heterogeneous medium depend, in general, on a complex interplay between multiple length scales. Connecting local interactions to macroscopic observables, such as stiffness or fracture, is thus…
Brittle materials fail catastrophically. In consequence of their limited flaw-tolerance, failure occurs by localized fracture and is typically a dynamic process. Recently, experiments on epithelial cell monolayers have revealed that this…
We discuss in detail a recently proposed hybrid particle-continuum scheme for complex fluids and evaluate it at the example of a confined homopolymer solution in slit geometry. The hybrid scheme treats polymer chains near the impenetrable…
Both the shape of individual particles and their surface properties contribute to the strength of a granular material under shear. Here we show the degree to which these two aspects can be intertwined. In experiments on assemblies of 3D…
In this work, we review and analyze both the theoretical and numerical aspects of strongly and weakly coupled thermoelastic systems. By employing spectral analysis techniques and establishing uniform resolvent estimates, we derive uniform…
A geometrically nonlinear continuum mechanical theory is formulated for deformation and failure behaviors of amorphous polymers. The model seeks to capture material response over a range of loading rates, temperatures, and stress states…
The properties of the interface in a phase-separated solution of polymers with different degrees of polymerization and Kuhn segment lengths are calculated. The starting point is the planar interface, the profile of which is calculated in…
Statistical mechanics can provide a versatile theoretical framework for investigating the collective dynamics of weakly nonlinear waves-settings that can be utterly complex to describe otherwise. In optics, composite systems arise due to…
We investigate the statistical mechanics of a torsionally constrained polymer. The polymer is modeled as a fluctuating rod with bend stiffness A kT and twist stiffness C kT. In such a model, thermal bend fluctuations couple geometrically to…
In various cellular processes, biofilaments like F-actin and F-tubulin are able to exploit chemical energy associated to polymerization to perform mechanical work against an external load. The force-velocity relationship quantitatively…
The dynamics of a tagged particle immersed in a fluid of particles of the same size but different mass is studied when the system is confined between two hard parallel plates separated a distance smaller than twice the diameter of the…