Related papers: Vibrations and waves in soft dielectric elastomer …
Soft electronics have recently gathered considerable interest thanks to their bio-mechanical compatibility. An important feature of such deformable conductors is their electrical response to strain. While development of stretchable…
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…
Large deformations play a central role in the shape transformations of slender active and biological structures. A classical example is the eversion of the Volvox embryo, which demonstrates the need for shell theories that can describe…
Mechanical metamaterials are periodic lattice structures with complex unit cell architectures that can achieve extraordinary mechanical properties beyond the capability of bulk materials. A new class of metamaterials is proposed, whose…
Soft robotics is a field of robotic system design characterized by materials and structures that exhibit large-scale deformation, high compliance, and rich multifunctionality. The incorporation of soft and deformable structures endows soft…
Polymeric materials that couple deformation and electrostatics have the potential for use in soft sensors and actuators with potential applications ranging from robotic, biomedical, energy, aerospace and automotive technologies. In contrast…
Understanding the statistical mechanics of low-energy excitations in structural glasses has been the focus of extensive research efforts in the past decades due to their key roles in determining the low-temperature mechanical and transport…
This work investigates the morphological stability of a soft body composed of two heavy elastic layers, attached to a rigid surface and subjected only to the bulk gravity force. Using theoretical and computational tools, we characterize the…
We investigate theoretically the collective dynamics of soft active particles living in a viscous fluid. We focus on a minimal model for active but non-motile particles consisting of $N>1$ elastic dimers deformed by active stresses and…
Liquid metals (LM) are embedded in an elastomer matrix to obtain soft composites with unique thermal, dielectric, and mechanical properties. They have applications in soft robotics, biomedical engineering, and wearable electronics. By…
We introduce the concept of magnetoelastic metamaterials with electromagnetic properties depending on elastic deformation. We predict a strong nonlinear and bistable response of such metamaterials caused by their structural reshaping in…
Nonlinear elastic responses of short and stiff polyelectrolytes are investigated by dynamic simulations on a single molecule level. When a polyelectrolyte condensate undergoes a mechanical unfolding, two types of force-extension curves,…
In complex crystals close to melting or at finite temperatures, different types of defects are ubiquitous and their role becomes relevant in the mechanical response of these solids. Conventional elasticity theory fails to provide a…
Shell structure in the single particle spectrum of deformed harmonic oscillator potentials when a term proportional to $(\vec L)^2$ is added is analyzed for a large particle number. A scaling law which gives a dividing line between regular…
Cutting-edge smart materials are transforming the domains of soft robotics, actuators, and sensors by harnessing diverse non-mechanical stimuli, such as electric and magnetic fields. Accurately modelling their physical behaviour…
The dynamics and thermodynamics of dislocated crystals are studied within the framework of the nonlinear theory of elastic and plastic deformations.
Numerical simulations shed light on control of shear elastic wave propagation in plates structured with inertial resonators. The structural element is composed of a heavy core connected to the main freestanding plate through tiny ligaments.…
Electrostatic actuators are simple but important switching devices for MEMS applications. Due to the difficulties associated with the electrostatic nonlinearity, precise mathematical description is often hard to obtain for the dynamics of…
In the present work, the overall nonlinear elastic behavior of a 1D multi-modular structure incorporating possible imperfections at the discrete (micro-scale) level, is derived with respect to both tensile and compressive applied loads. The…
Energies and equilibrium equations for thin elastic plates are discussed, with emphasis on several issues pertinent to recent approaches in soft condensed matter. Consequences of choice of basis, choice of invariant strain measures, and of…