Related papers: Surface energy-driven crumpling transition in a th…
We extend classical Flory-Rehner theory for the expansion and compression of porous materials such as cross-linked polymer networks. The theory includes volume exclusion, affinity with the solvent, and finite stretching of the polymer…
The ``crumpling" transition, between rigid and crumpled surfaces, has been object of much discussion over the past years. The common lore is that such transition should be of second order. However, some lattice versions of the rigidity term…
The actomyosin cortex, a thin layer of a cross-linked polymer network near the cell surface, generates active forces that are responsible for cell shape changes. Many developmental processes that involve such cell shape changes, most…
We investigate how thin structures change their shape in response to non-mechanical stimuli that can be interpreted as variations in the structure's natural curvature. Starting from the theory of non-Euclidean plates and shells, we derive…
We theoretically investigate the kinetics of the folding transition of a single semiflexible polymer. In the folding transition, the growth rate decrease with an increase in the number of monomers in a collapsed domain, suggesting that the…
Energy dissipation in sheared dry and wet granulates is considered in the presence of an externally applied confining pressure. Discrete element simulations reveal that for sufficiently small confining pressures, the energy dissipation is…
Classically, surface tension is seen as a force per unit length or as energy per unit area. The surface energy is calculated thermodynamically on the surface of a mathematical layer with no thickness. The surface energy concept is certainly…
The surface tension $\sigma$ of free-standing graphene is studied by path-integral simulations as a function of the temperature and the in-plane stress. Even if the applied stress vanishes, the membrane displays a finite surface tension…
We present an analysis of a partially directed walk model of a polymer which at one end is tethered to a sticky surface and at the other end is subjected to a pulling force at fixed angle away from the point of tethering. Using the kernel…
Blisters, delaminated regions that form in multilayered structures under compressive stresses, are observed across a wide range of length scales, from two-dimensional materials to protective coatings and laminated composites. Far from being…
Dense granular media have a compaction between the random loose and random close packings. For these dense media the concept of a granular pressure depending on compaction is not unanimously accepted because they are often in a "frozen"…
An evaporating droplet is a dynamic system in which flow is spontaneously generated to minimize the surface energy, dragging particles to the borders and ultimately resulting in the so-called "coffee-stain effect". The situation becomes…
A 1-dimensional model for coherent quantum energy transfer through a complex of compressible boxes is investigated by numerical integration of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation. Energy is communicated from one box to the next by the…
It is well-known that a thin sheet held in a rigid circular clamp has a larger flexural strength than when it is flat. Here, we report that the flexural strength of curved sheets is further increased with a softening of the clamping…
Granular packings display a wealth of mechanical features which are of widespread significance. One of these features is creep: the slow deformation under applied stress. Creep is common for many other amorphous materials such as many…
Understanding the generation of mechanical stress in drying, particle-laden films is important for a wide range of industrial processes. The cantilever experiment allows the stress in a drying film that has been deposited onto a thin plate…
The influence of the external pressure and surface energy on the wetting transition at nanotextured interfaces is studied using molecular dynamics and continuum simulations. The surface roughness of the composite interface is introduced via…
The problem of transient hysteresis cycles induced by the pre-sliding kinetic friction is relevant for analyzing the system dynamics e.g. of micro- and nano-positioning instruments and devices and their controlled operation. The associated…
We study the geometric properties of the energy landscape of coarse-grained, off-lattice models of polymers by endowing the configuration space with a suitable metric, depending on the potential energy function, such that the dynamical…
There has been a resurgence of interest in using origami principles--along with $2$D materials--to design a wide array of nanoscale devices. In this work, we take cognizance of the fact that small-scale devices are vulnerable to entropic…