Related papers: Elastic Effects in Disordered Nematic Networks
Disordered networks of fragile elastic elements have been proposed as a model for inner porous regions of large bones [Gunaratne et.al., cond-mat/0009221]. In numerical studies, weakening of such networks is seen to be accompanied by…
When elastic solids are sheared, a nonlinear effect named after Poynting gives rise to normal stresses or changes in volume. We provide a novel relation between the Poynting effect and the microscopic Gr\"uneisen parameter, which quantifies…
This paper presents an in-depth examination of the nonlinear deformation induced by dielectric actuation in pre-stressed ideal dielectric elastomers. A nonlinear ordinary differential equation that governs this deformation is formulated…
A general approach is presented for understanding the stress response function in anisotropic granular layers in two dimensions. The formalism accommodates both classical anisotropic elasticity theory and linear theories of anisotropic…
The problem of characterizing the structure of an elastic network constrained to lie on a frozen curved surface appears in many areas of science and has been addressed by many different approaches, most notably, extending linear elasticity…
Dielectric elastomers (DEs) that couple deformation and electrostatics have the potential for use in soft sensors and actuators with applications ranging from robotic, biomedical, energy, aerospace and automotive technologies. However,…
The competing effect of a periodic pinning potential and random point disorder is studied for arrays of elastic lines or directed polymers. The groundstates are investigated by exact combinatorial optimization. In both two and three…
Cross-linked polymer networks with orientational order constitute a wide class of soft materials and are relevant to biological systems (e.g., F-actin bundles). We analytically study the nonlinear force-extension relation of an array of…
We present a generic formulation of the continuum elasticity of an isotropic crosslinked active gel. The gel is described by a two-component model consisting of an elastic network coupled frictionally to a permeating fluid. Activity is…
We study the effects of motor-generated stresses in disordered three dimensional fiber networks using a combination of a mean-field, effective medium theory, scaling analysis and a computational model. We find that motor activity controls…
Recent experiments have exploited elastic instabilities in membranes to create complex patterns. However, the rational design of such structures poses many challenges, as they are products of nonlinear elastic behavior. We pose a simple…
The ability of cells to reorganize in response to external stimuli is important in areas ranging from morphogenesis to tissue engineering. Elongated cells can co-align due to steric effects, forming states with local order. We show that…
Low-connectivity polymer networks were recently found to behave auxetically when subjected to small tensions, that is, their Poisson's ratio $\nu$ becomes negative. In addition, for specific state points, numerical simulations revealed that…
We consider prototype configurations for quasi-one-dimensional stochastic networks that exhibit negative mobility, meaning that current decreases or even reversed as the bias is increased. We then explore the implications of disorder. In…
When liquid-crystal elastomers are prepared without any alignment, disordered polydomain structures emerge as the materials are cooled into the nematic phase. These polydomain structures have been attributed to quenched disorder in the…
The effects of an electric field on the flow patterns and defect dynamics of two-dimensional active nematics are numerically investigated. We found that field-induced director reorientation causes anisotropic active turbulence characterized…
Inner porous regions play a critical role in the load bearing capability of large bones.We show that an extension of disordered elastic networks [Chung et. al., Phys. Rev. B, {\bf 54}, 15094 (1996)] exhibits analogs of several known…
We model within the framework of finite elasticity two inherent instabilities observed in liquid crystal elastomers under uniaxial tension. First is necking which occurs when a material sample suddenly elongates more in a small region where…
We measure stretched exponential behavior, exp(- (t/t_0)**beta), over many decades in a one-dimensional array of coupled chaotic electronic elements just above a crisis-induced intermittency transition. There is strong spatial heterogeneity…
Neuromorphic networks can be described in terms of coarse-grained variables, where emergent sustained behaviours spontaneously arise if stochasticity is properly taken in account. For example it has been recently found that a directed…