Related papers: Controllable Interlocking from Irregularity in Two…
We determine the effective behavior of a class of composites in finite-strain crystal plasticity, based on a variational model for materials made of fine parallel layers of two types. While one component is completely rigid in the sense…
Dielectric relaxation in disordered dielectric mixtures are presented by emphasizing the interfacial polarization. The obtained results coincide with and cause confusion with those of the low frequency dispersion behavior. The considered…
Understanding the phase behavior of mixtures with many components is important in many contexts, including as a key step toward a physics-based description of intracellular compartmentalization. Here, we study the instabilities of a mixture…
Spin crossover frameworks and molecular crystals display fascinating collective behaviours. This includes multi-step transitions with hysteresis and a wide variety of long-range ordered patterns of high-spin and low-spin metal centres. From…
Using the Fundamental-Measure Density Functional Theory, we have studied theoretically the phase behavior of extremely confined mixtures of parallel hard squares in slit geometry. The pore width is chosen such that configurations consisting…
We study the buckling of a one fiber composite whose matrix stiffness is slightly dependent on the compressive force. We show that the equilibrium curves of the system exhibit a limit load when the induced stiffness parameter gets bigger…
A model for a monolayer of two types of particles spontaneously forming ordered patterns is studied by a mesoscopic theory and by MC simulations. We assume hard-cores of the same size for both components, short-range attraction long-range…
By means of sophisticated Monte Carlo methods, we investigate the conformational phase diagram of a simple model for flexible polymers with explicit thickness. The thickness constraint, which is introduced geometrically via the global…
Above a certain density a granular material jams. This property can be controlled by either tuning a global property, such as the packing fraction or by applying shear strain, or at the micro-scale by tuning grain shape, inter-particle…
Structural defects are ubiquitous in condensed matter, and not always a nuisance. For example, they underlie phenomena such as Anderson localization and hyperuniformity, and they are now being exploited to engineer novel materials. Here, we…
Plasticity in amorphous materials, such as glasses, colloids, or granular materials, is mediated by local rearrangements called "soft spots". Experiments and simulations have shown that soft spots are two-state entities interacting via…
The design of amorphous entangled systems, specifically from soft and active materials, has the potential to open exciting new classes of active, shape-shifting, and task-capable 'smart' materials. However, the global emergent mechanics…
A collection of thin structures buckle, bend, and bump into each-other when confined. This contact can lead to the formation of patterns: hair will self-organize in curls; DNA strands will layer into cell nuclei; paper, when crumpled, will…
Multiscale techniques have been widely shown to potentially overcome the limitation of homogenization schemes in representing the microscopic failure mechanisms in heterogeneous media as well as their influence on their structural response…
Understanding conformational change is crucial for programming and controlling the function of many mechanical systems such as allosteric enzymes and tunable metamaterials. Of particular interest is the relationship between the network…
By using long-range interacting polygons, we experimentally probe the coupling between particle shape and long-range interaction. For two typical space-filling polygons, square and triangle, we find two types of coupling modes that…
Topologically interlocked structures are architectured by fitting together blocks that are constrained geometrically through contact and friction by their neighboring blocks. As long as the frictional strength is nowhere exceeded, the…
A controllable soft solid is realised in vortex matter in a type II superconductor. The two-dimensional unit cell area can be varied by a factor of $10^4$ in the solid phase, without a change of crystal symmetry offering easy exploration of…
By virtue of their open network structures and low densities, metal--organic frameworks (MOFs) are soft materials that exhibit elastic instabilities at low applied stresses. The conventional strategy for improving elastic stability is to…
Diverse interlayer tunability of physical properties of two-dimensional layers mostly lies in the covalent-like quasi-bonding that is significant in electronic structures but rather weak for energetics. Such characteristics result in…