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For monodomain nematic elastomers, we construct generalised elastic-nematic constitutive models combining purely elastic and neoclassical-type strain-energy densities. Inspired by recent developments in stochastic elasticity, we extend…
Strain-based theory on elastic instabilities is being widely employed for studying onset of plasticity, phase transition or melting in crystals. And size effects, observed in nano-materials or solids under dynamic loadings, needs to account…
The dynamics of filaments in flow are central to understanding a wide range of biological and soft-matter systems, yet their behavior under time-dependent forcing remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the long-time dynamics of…
A two dimensional amorphous material is modeled as an assembly of mesoscopic elemental pieces coupled together to form an elastically coherent structure. Plasticity is introduced as the existence of different minima in the energy landscape…
In spite of the apparent similarity of micro-branching instabilities in different brittle materials, we propose that the physics determining the typical length- and time-scales characterizing the post-instability patterns differ greatly…
Buckling plays a critical role in the transport and dynamics of elastic microfilaments in Stokesian fluids. However, previous work has only considered filaments with homogeneous structural properties. Filament backbone stiffness can be…
We investigate the possibility of a striped inhomoegenous phase occurring as an electronic system with an order parameter linearly coupled to the elastic degrees of freedom is tuned through the electronic phase transition. We find that in…
Optical devices with metastable states controlled with light (optical flip-flops) are needed in data storage, signal processing and displays. Although non-volatile optical memory relying on structural phase transitions in chalcogenide…
In jamming systems like colloids, emulsions, foams, and biological tissues, significant deformation is essential for processes such as material scraping or wound self-healing. To adequately spread a foam or cream over a surface, external…
In many scenarios -- when we bite food or during a crash -- fracture is inevitable. Finding solutions to steer fracture to mitigate its impact or turn it into a purposeful functionality, is therefore crucial. Strategies using composites,…
In civil, mechanical, and aerospace engineering, structural dynamics is commonly understood to be a discipline concerned with the analysis and characterization of the vibratory response of structures. Key elements of the response are the…
We investigate the elastic buckling of a triangular prism made of a soft elastomer. A face of the prism is bonded to a stiff slab that imposes an average axial compression. We observe two possible buckling modes which are localized along…
Synaptic connections in neuronal circuits are modulated by pre- and post-synaptic spiking activity. Heuristic models of this process of synaptic plasticity can provide excellent fits to results from in-vitro experiments in which pre- and…
Materials which feature bistable elements, hysterons, exhibit memory effects. Often these hysterons are difficult to observe or control directly. Here we introduce a mechanical metamaterial in which slender elements, interacting with…
The ideal shock absorber combines high stiffness with high energy absorption whilst retaining structural integrity after impact and is scalable for industrial production. So far no structure meets all of these criteria. Here, we introduce a…
The theory, the design and the experimental validation of a catastrophe machine based on a flexible element are addressed for the first time. A general theoretical framework is developed by extending that of the classical catastrophe…
Slow dynamic nonlinearity is widely observed in brittle materials with complex heterogeneous or cracked microstructures. It is seen in rocks, concrete and cracked glass blocks. Unconsolidated structures show the behavior as well: aggregates…
We investigate the finite bending and the associated bending instability of an incompressible dielectric slab subject to a combination of applied voltage and axial compression, using nonlinear electro-elasticity theory and its incremental…
Multistability-induced hysteresis has been widely studied in mechanical systems, but such behavior has proven more difficult to reproduce experimentally in flow networks. Natural flow networks like animal and plant vasculature can exhibit…
The two-dimensional oscillatory crack instability, experimentally observed in a class of brittle materials under strongly dynamic conditions, has been recently reproduced by a nonlinear phase-field fracture theory. Here we highlight the…