Related papers: Asperity Shape and Gradient Elasticity in Flexoele…
Nominally identical materials exchange net electric charge during contact through a mechanism that is still debated. `Mosaic models', in which surfaces are presumed to consist of a random patchwork of microscopic donor/acceptor sites, offer…
Flexoelectricity is characterised by the coupling of the gradient of the deformation and the electrical polarization in a dielectric material. A novel micromorphic approach is presented to accommodate the resulting higher-order gradient…
We derive a connection between the intrinsic tribological properties and the electronic properties of a solid interface. In particular, we show that the adhesion and frictional forces are dictated by the electronic charge redistribution…
Rigidity transitions in simple models of confluent cells have been a powerful organizing principle in understanding the dynamics and mechanics of dense biological tissue. In this work we explore the interplay between geometry and rigidity…
Flexoelectricity refers to a linear coupling between the electric polarization and the strain gradient, such as bending or asymmetric compression. This effect is enhanced in nano-scale structures, where grain boundaries or dislocation cores…
Connecting cell behavior to tissue shape and mechanics is a key challenge in the physics of morphogenesis. Cytoskeletal turnover precludes a fixed reference state, and tensions are actively generated independently of strain; so conventional…
We initiate the development of a theory of the elasticity of nanoscale objects based upon new physical concepts which remain properly defined on the nanoscale. This theory provides a powerful way of understanding nanoscale elasticity in…
Understanding nanomechanical response of materials represents a scientific challenge. Here, we have used in-situ electron microscopy to reveal drastic for the first time changes of structural behavior during deformation of 1-nm-wide metal…
Flexoelectricity is a universal effect that generates electric polarization due to broken inversion symmetry caused by local strain gradient. The large strain gradient at nanoscale makes flexo-electric effects, especially in nanoscopic…
For the adhesive contact of elastomers, we propose expressions to quantify the impact of viscoelastic response on effective adhesion energy as a function of contact edge velocity. The expressions we propose are simple analytical functionals…
True contact between randomly rough solids consists of myriad individual micro-junctions. While their total area controls the adhesive friction force of the interface, other macroscopic features, including viscoelastic friction, wear,…
Here the recently developed size-dependent piezoelectricity and the strain gradient theory of flexoelectricity are compared. In the course of this investigation, the strain gradient theory of flexoelectricity is shown to violate fundamental…
Artificially induced asymmetric tribological properties of ferroelectrics offer an alternative route to visualize and control ferroelectric domains. Here, we observe the switchable friction and wear behavior of ferroelectrics using a…
{\it Ab initio} density functional theory calculations are performed to investigate the electronic structure of MoS$_2$ armchair nanoribbons in the presence of an external static electric field. Such nanoribbons, which are nonmagnetic and…
We report on normal contact and friction measurements of model multicontact interfaces formed between smooth surfaces and substrates textured with a statistical distribution of spherical micro-asperities. Contacts are either formed between…
The theories of flexoelectricity and that of nonlocal elasticity are closely related, and are often considered together when modeling strain-gradient effects in solids. Here I show, based on a first-principles lattice-dynamical analysis,…
We demonstrate that the spin orientation of an electron propagating in a one-dimensional nanostructure with Rashba spin-orbit (SO) coupling can be manipulated on demand by changing the geometry of the nanosystem. Shape deformations that…
Discrete dislocation plasticity (DDP) calculations are carried out to investigate the response of a single crystal contacted by a rigid sinusoidal asperity under sliding loading conditions to look for causes of microstructure change in the…
Coupling between axial and torsional degrees of freedom often modifies the conformation and expression of natural and synthetic filamentous aggregates. Recent studies on chiral single-walled carbon nanotubes and B-DNA reveal a reversal in…
Bending the edge of a thin elastic material promotes rigidity far from its clamped boundary. However, this curvature-induced rigidity can be overwhelmed by gravity or other external loading, resulting in elastic buckling and large…