Related papers: The Soft-Membrane Surface Forces Apparatus
Surface Force Apparatus (SFA) allows to accurately resolve the interfacial properties of fluids confined between extended surfaces. The accuracy of the SFA makes it an ubiquitous tool for the nanoscale mechanical characterization of soft…
Advances in the research of intermolecular and surface interactions result from the development of new and improved measurement techniques and combinations of existing techniques. Here, we present a new miniature version of the Surface…
We present a new capacitive sensor for displacement measurement in a Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA) which allows dynamical measurements in the range of 0-100 Hz. This sensor measures the relative displacement between two macroscopic opaque…
We describe a surface force apparatus designed to probe the rheology of a nanoconfined medium under large shear amplitudes (up to 500 $\mu$m). The instrument can be operated in closed-loop, controlling either the applied normal load or the…
Understanding and harnessing the coupling between lubrication pressure and elasticity provides materials design strategies for applications such as adhesives, coatings, microsensors, and biomaterials. Elastic deformation of compliant solids…
Soft robots, particularly magnetic soft robots, require specialized simulation tools to accurately model their deformation under external magnetic fields. However, existing platforms often lack dedicated support for magnetic materials,…
A microfluidic device is constructed from PDMS with a single channel having a short section that is a thin flexible membrane, in order to investigate the complex fluid-structure interaction that arises between a flowing fluid and a…
Modern interfacial science is increasingly multi-disciplinary. Unique insight into interfacial interactions requires new multimodal techniques for interrogating surfaces with simultaneous complementary physical and chemical measurements. We…
Soft pneumatic actuators (SPA) made from elastomeric materials can provide large strain and large force. The behavior of locally strain-restricted hyperelastic materials under inflation has been investigated thoroughly for shape…
Soft actuators are receiving increasing attention from the engineering community, not only in research but even for industrial applications. Among soft actuators, fibre-reinforced Bending Fluidic Actuators (BFAs) became very popular thanks…
We present a unique experimental configuration that allows us to determine the interfacial forces on nearly parallel plates made from the thinnest possible mechanical structures, single and few layer graphene membranes. Our approach…
We study the kinematics and dynamics of a highly compliant membrane disk placed head-on in a uniform flow. With increasing flow velocity, the membrane deforms nonlinearly into increasingly parachute-like shapes. These aerodynamically…
We report the development of a scanning force microscope based on an ultra-sensitive silicon nitride membrane transducer. Our development is made possible by inverting the standard microscope geometry - in our instrument, the substrate is…
In Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) based pressure sensors and acoustic devices, deflection of a membrane is utilized for pressure or sound measurements. Due to advantages of capacitive pressure sensor over piezoresistive pressure…
Recent theoretical and experimental investigations have revealed that flapping compliant membrane wings can significantly enhance propulsive performance (e.g. Tzezana and Breuer, 2019, J. Fluid Mech., 862, 871-888) and energy harvesting…
In this study the possibility of combining commercial Scanning Force Microscopes (SFM) with stretching devices for the investigation of microscopic surface changes during stepwise elongation is investigated. Different types of stretching…
The morphology of a slender soft-robot can be modified by sensing its shape via sensors and exerting moments via actuators embedded along its body. The actuating moments required to morph these soft-robots to a desired shape are often…
We construct a model to explore the hydrodynamic interactions of active inclusions in curved biological membranes. The curved membrane is modelled as a two dimensional layer of highly viscous fluid, surrounded by external solvents of…
Experimental investigations of surface forces generally involve two solid bodies of simple and well-defined geometry interacting across a medium. Direct measurement of their surface interaction can be interpreted to reveal fundamental…
The statistical mechanics of flexible two-dimensional surfaces (membranes) appears in a wide variety of physical settings. In this talk we discuss the simplest case of fixed-connectivity surfaces. We first review the current theoretical…