Related papers: Discontinuous metric programming in liquid crystal…
We revisit the light or heat-induced changes in topography of initially flat sheets of solid that elongate or contract along patterned, in-plane director fields. For radial or azimuthal directors, negative Gaussian curvature is generated --…
Localized patterns are coherent structures embedded in a quiescent state and occur in both discrete and continuous media across a wide range of applications. While it is well-understood how domain covering patterns (for example stripes and…
We consider a class of liquid crystal free-boundary problems for which both the equilibrium shape and internal configuration of a system must simultaneously be determined, for example in films with air- or fluid-liquid crystal interfaces…
Smart surfaces that reversibly change the interfacial friction coefficients in response to external stimuli enable a wide range of applications, such as grips, seals, brake pads, packaging films, and fabrics. Here a new concept of such a…
We consider three-dimensional reshaping of a thin nematoelastic film upon nematic-isotropic transition in the field of a charge one topological defect, leading to either cone or anticone (d-cone) shells. The analysis is based on the…
Liquid crystal elastomers are cross-linked elastomer networks with liquid crystal mesogens incorporated into the main or side chain. Polydomain liquid crystalline (nematic) elastomers exhibit unusual mechanical properties like soft…
Elastomeric pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) form adhesive bonds under light pressure. Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are exciting PSA candidates as they can impart both anisotropy and temperature-dependence to adhesion, but the full…
In active matter systems, deformable boundaries provide a mechanism to organize internal active stresses and perform work on the external environment. To study a minimal model of such a system, we perform particle-based simulations of an…
Here, we report the rate-dependent energy absorption behavior of a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE)-based architected material consisting of repeating unit cells of bistable tilted LCE beams sandwiched between stiff supports. Viscoelastic…
Nonlinear elastic metamaterials are known to support a variety of dynamic phenomena that enhance our capacity to manipulate elastic waves. Since these properties stem from complex, subwavelength geometry, full-scale dynamic simulations are…
Ductile fracture of metallic materials typically involves the elastoplastic deformation and associated damaging process. The nonlocal lattice particle method (LPM) can be extended to model this complex behavior. Recently, a distortional…
We investigate the deformation of elastic microcapsules adsorbed at liquid-liquid interfaces. An initially spherical elastic capsule at a liquid-liquid interface undergoes circumferential stretching due to the liquid-liquid surface tension…
Living biological tissue is a complex system, constantly growing and changing in response to external and internal stimuli. These processes lead to remarkable and intricate changes in shape. Modeling and understanding both natural and…
We study pattern formation during tensile deformation of confined viscoelastic layers. The use of a model system (PDMS with different degrees of crosslinking) allows us to go continuously from a viscous liquid to an elastic solid. We…
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…
Electrically-controlled dynamics of fluids and particles at microscales is a fascinating area of research with applications ranging from microfluidics and sensing to sorting of biomolecules. The driving mechanisms are electric forces acting…
Linear defects such as dislocations and disclinations in ordered materials attract foreign particles since they replace strong elastic distortions at the defect cores. In this work, we explore the behavior of isotropic droplets nucleating…
Control of physical behaviors of nematic colloids and colloidal crystals has been demonstrated by tuning particle shape, topology, chirality and surface charging. However, the capability of altering physical behaviors of such soft matter…
Instabilities in thin elastic sheets, such as wrinkles, are of broad interest both from a fundamental viewpoint and also because of their potential for engineering applications. Nematic liquid crystal elastomers offer a new form of control…
We study a three-dimensional ($3D$) liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) in the context of Finsler geometry (FG) modeling, where FG is a mathematical framework for describing anisotropic phenomena. The LCE is a $3D$ rubbery object and has…