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Equilibrium self-assembly and conventional materials processing techniques fall far short of mimicking dynamic self-actuating processes that are commonplace throughout biology. To bridge the gap between living and synthetic matter, we study…
In this work, we introduce an advanced thermo-active variable impedance module which builds upon our previous innovation in thermal-based impedance adjustment for actuation systems. Our initial design harnessed the temperature-responsive,…
Size extensivity, defined as the correct scaling of energy with system size, is a desirable property for any many-body method. Traditional CI methods are not size extensive hence the error increases as the system gets larger. Coupled…
Soft Robotics presents a rich canvas for free-form and continuum devices capable of exerting forces in any direction and transforming between arbitrary configurations. However, there is no current way to tractably and directly exploit the…
Nonlinearities and instabilities in mechanical structures have shown great promise for embedding advanced functionalities. However, simulating structures subject to nonlinearities can be challenging due to the complexity of their behavior,…
Elastic actuation taps into elastic elements' energy storage for dynamic motions beyond rigid actuation. While Series Elastic Actuators (SEA) and Variable Stiffness Actuators (VSA) are highly sophisticated, they do not fully provide control…
This paper presents an interaction control algorithm for a dielectric elastomer membrane actuator. The proposed method permits efficient exploitation of the controllable stiffness of the material, allowing to use the membrane as a…
This work deals with the modelling and simulation of curing phenomena in adhesively bonded piezo metal composites which consist of an adhesive layer with integrated piezoelectric module and two surrounding metal sheet layers. In a first…
Mechanical stresses are increasingly found to be associated with various biological functionalities. At the same time, topological defects are being identified across a diverse range of biological systems and are points of localized…
High Entropy Alloys (HEAs), Multi-principal Component Alloys (MCA), or Compositionally Complex Alloys (CCAs) are alloys that contain multiple principal alloying elements. While many HEAs have been shown to have unique properties, their…
A three-dimensional multi-scale computational homogenisation framework is developed for the prediction of nonlinear micro/meso-mechanical response of the fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. Two dominant damage mechanisms, i.e. matrix…
This paper demonstrates the computational design of soft elastomeric pneumatic actuators using nonlinear topology optimization. An existing density- and porohyperelasticity-based topology optimization framework was extended from 2D to 3D…
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a promising solution for handling the complexity of fabricating soft robots. However, the AM of hyperelastic materials is still challenging with a limited material range. Within this work, pellet-based 3D…
Active materials are capable of converting free energy into directional motion, giving rise to striking dynamical phenomena. Developing a general understanding of their structure in relation to the underlying non-equilibrium physics would…
Previous kinetic models had assumed that the reaction medium was reacting at random and without a turnover associated to thermodynamics exchanges, with a rigid active site on the enzyme. The experimental studies show that coupling factor 1…
This article studies the fundamental problem of separating two adhesive elastic fibers based on numerical simulation employing a recently developed finite element model for molecular interactions between curved slender fibers. Specifically,…
We study the force production dynamics of undulating elastic plates as a model for fish-like inertial swimmers. Using a beam model coupled with Lighthill's large-amplitude elongated-body theory, we explore different localised actuations at…
Passive dynamic walkers are widely adopted as a mathematical model to represent biped walking. The stable locomotion of these models is limited to tilted surfaces, requiring gravitational energy. Various techniques, such as actuation…
This contribution investigates the extension of the microplane formulation to the description of transversely isotropic materials such as shale rock, foams, unidirectional composites, and ceramics. Two possible approaches are considered: 1)…
A new hyperelastic material model is proposed for graphene-based structures, such as graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanocones (CNC). The proposed model is based on a set of invariants obtained from the right surface…