Asymptotic softness of a laterally confined sheet in a pressurized chamber.

Elastohydrodynamic models, that describe the interaction between a thin sheet and a fluid medium, have been proven successful in explaining the complex behavior of biological systems and artificial materials. Motivated by these applications we study the quasistatic deformation of a thin sheet that is confined between the two sides of a closed chamber. The two parts of the chamber, above and below the sheet, are filled with an ideal gas. We show that the system is governed by two dimensionless parameters, Δ and η, that account respectively for the lateral compression of the sheet and the ratio between the amount of fluid filling each part of the chamber and the bending stiffness of the sheet. When η≪1 the bending energy of the sheet dominates the system, the pressure drop between the two sides of the chamber increases, and the sheet exhibits a symmetric configuration. When η≫1 the energy of the fluid dominates the system, the pressure drop vanishes, and the sheet exhibits an asymmetric configuration. The transition between these two limiting scenarios is governed by a third branch of solutions that is characterized by a rapid decrease of the pressure drop. Notably, across the transition the energetic gap between the symmetric and asymmetric states scales as δE∼Δ^{2}. Therefore, in the limit Δ≪1 small variations in the energy are accompanied by relatively large changes in the elastic shape.

Volume-constrained deformation of a thin sheet as a route to harvest elastic energy.

Thin sheets exhibit rich morphological structures when subjected to external constraints. These structures store elastic energy that can be released on demand when one of the constraints is suddenly removed. Therefore, when adequately controlled, shape changes in thin bodies can be utilized to harvest elastic energy. In this paper, we propose a mechanical setup that converts the deformation of the thin body into a hydrodynamic pressure that potentially can induce a flow. We consider a closed chamber that is filled with an incompressible fluid and is partitioned symmetrically by a long and thin sheet. Then, we allow the fluid to exchange freely between the two parts of the chamber, such that its total volume is conserved. We characterize the slow, quasistatic, evolution of the sheet under this exchange of fluid, and derive an analytical model that predicts the subsequent pressure drop in the chamber. We show that this evolution is governed by two different branches of solutions. In the limit of a small lateral confinement we obtain approximated solutions for the two branches and characterize the transition between them. Notably, the transition occurs when the pressure drop in the chamber is maximized. Furthermore, we solve our model numerically and show that this maximum pressure behaves nonmonotonically as a function of the lateral compression.

Buckling-induced interaction between circular inclusions in an infinite thin plate.

Design of slender artificial materials and morphogenesis of thin biological tissues typically involve stimulation of isolated regions (inclusions) in the growing body. These inclusions apply internal stresses on their surrounding areas that are ultimately relaxed by out-of-plane deformation (buckling). We utilize the Föppl-von Kármán model to analyze the interaction between two circular inclusions in an infinite plate that their centers are separated a distance of 2ℓ. In particular, we investigate a region in phase space where buckling occurs at a narrow transition layer of length ℓ_{D} around the radius of the inclusion, R (ℓ_{D}≪R). We show that the latter length scale defines two regions within the system, the close separation region, ℓ-R∼ℓ_{D}, where the transition layers of the two inclusions approximately coalesce, and the far separation region, ℓ-R≫ℓ_{D}. While the interaction energy decays exponentially in the latter region, E_{int}∝e^{-(ℓ-R)/ℓ_{D}}, it presents nonmonotonic behavior in the former region. While this exponential decay is predicted by our analytical analysis and agrees with the numerical observations, the close separation region is treated only numerically. In particular, we utilize the numerical investigation to explore two different scenarios within the final configuration: The first where the two inclusions buckle in the same direction (up-up solution) and the second where the two inclusions buckle in opposite directions (up-down solution). We show that the up-down solution is always energetically favorable over the up-up solution. In addition, we point to a curious symmetry breaking within the up-down scenario; we show that this solution becomes asymmetric in the close separation region.

Delamination of open cylindrical shells from soft and adhesive Winkler's foundation.

The interaction between thin elastic films and soft-adhesive foundations has recently gained interest due to technological applications that require control over such objects. Motivated by these applications we investigate the equilibrium configuration of an open cylindrical shell with natural curvature κ and bending modulus B that is adhered to soft and adhesive foundation with stiffness K. We derive an analytical model that predicts the delamination criterion, i.e., the critical natural curvature, κ_{cr}, at which delamination first occurs, and the ultimate shape of the shell. While in the case of a rigid foundation, K→∞, our model recovers the known two-states solution at which the shell either remains completely attached to the substrate or completely detaches from it, on a soft foundation our model predicts the emergence of a new branch of solutions. This branch corresponds to partially adhered shells, where the contact zone between the shell and the substrate is finite and scales as ℓ_{w}∼(B/K)^{1/4}. In addition, we find that the criterion for delamination depends on the total length of the shell along the curved direction, L. While relatively short shells, L∼ℓ_{w}, transform continuously between adhered and delaminated solutions, long shells, L≫ℓ_{w}, transform discontinuously. Notably, our work provides insights into the detachment phenomena of thin elastic sheets from soft and adhesive foundations.

Modeling the behavior of inclusions in circular plates undergoing shape changes from two to three dimensions.

Growth of biological tissues and shape changes of thin synthetic sheets are commonly induced by stimulation of isolated regions (inclusions) in the system. These inclusions apply internal forces on their surroundings that, in turn, promote 2D layers to acquire complex 3D configurations. We focus on a fundamental building block of these systems, and consider a circular plate that contains an inclusion with dilative strains. Based on the Föppl-von Kármán (FvK) theory, we derive an analytical model that predicts the 2D-to-3D shape transitions in the system. Our findings are summarized in a phase diagram that reveals two distinct configurations in the post-buckling region. One is an extensive profile that holds close to the threshold of the instability, and the second is a localized profile, which preempts the extensive solution beyond the buckling threshold. While the former solution is derived as a perturbation around the flat configuration, assuming infinitesimal amplitudes, the latter solution is derived around a buckled state that is highly localized. We show that up to vanishingly small corrections that scale with the thickness, this localized configuration is equivalent to that expected for ultra-thin sheets, which completely relax compressive stresses. Our findings agree quantitatively with direct numerical minimization of the FvK energy. Furthermore, we extend the theory to describe shape transitions in polymeric gels, and compare the results with numerical simulations that account for the complete elastodynamic behavior of the gels. The agreement between the theory and these simulations indicates that our results are observable experimentally. Notably, our findings can provide guidelines to the analysis of more complicated systems that encompass interaction between several buckled inclusions.

Modeling the formation of double rolls from heterogeneously patterned gels.

Both stimuli-responsive gels and growing biological tissue can undergo pronounced morphological transitions from two-dimensional (2D) layers into 3D geometries. We derive an analytical model that allows us to quantitatively predict the features of 2D-to-3D shape changes in polymer gels that encompasses different degrees of swelling within the sample. We analyze a particular configuration that emerges from a flat rectangular gel that is divided into two strips (bistrips), where each strip is swollen to a different extent in solution. The final configuration yields double rolls that display a narrow transition layer between two cylinders of constant radii. To characterize the rolls' shapes, we modify the theory of thin incompatible elastic sheets to account for the Flory-Huggins interaction between the gel and the solvent. This modification allows us to derive analytical expressions for the radii, the amplitudes, and the length of the transition layer within a given roll. Our predictions agree quantitatively with available experimental data. In addition, we carry out numerical simulations that account for the complete nonlinear behavior of the gel and show good agreement between the analytical predictions and the numerical results. Our solution sheds light on a stress focusing pattern that forms at the border between two dissimilar soft materials. Moreover, models that provide quantitative predictions on the final morphology in such heterogeneously swelling hydrogels are useful for understanding growth patterns in biology as well as accurately tailoring the structure of gels for various technological applications.

Delamination of a thin sheet from a soft adhesive Winkler substrate.

A uniaxially compressed thin elastic sheet that is resting on a soft adhesive substrate can form a blister, which is a small delaminated region, if the adhesion energy is sufficiently weak. To analyze the equilibrium behavior of this system, we model the substrate as a Winkler or fluid foundation. We develop a complete set of equations for the profile of the sheet at different applied pressures. We show that at the edge of delamination, the height of the sheet is equal to sqrt[2]ℓ_{c}, where ℓ_{c} is the capillary length. We then derive an approximate solution to these equations and utilize them for two applications. First, we determine the phase diagram of the system by analyzing possible transitions from the flat and wrinkled to delaminated states of the sheet. Second, we show that our solution for a blister on a soft foundation converges to the known solution for a blister on a rigid substrate that assumed a discontinuous bending moment at the blister edges. This continuous convergence into a discontinuous state marks the formation of a boundary layer around the point of delamination. The width of this layer relative to the extent length of the blister, ℓ, scales as w/ℓ∼(ℓ_{c}/ℓ_{ec})^{1/2}, where ℓ_{ec} is the elastocapillary length scale. Notably, our findings can provide guidelines for utilizing compression to remove thin biofilms from surfaces and thereby prevent the fouling of the system.

Strain tensor selection and the elastic theory of incompatible thin sheets.

The existing theory of incompatible elastic sheets uses the deviation of the surface metric from a reference metric to define the strain tensor [Efrati et al., J. Mech. Phys. Solids 57, 762 (2009)JMPSA80022-509610.1016/j.jmps.2008.12.004]. For a class of simple axisymmetric problems we examine an alternative formulation, defining the strain based on deviations of distances (rather than distances squared) from their rest values. While the two formulations converge in the limit of small slopes and in the limit of an incompressible sheet, for other cases they are found not to be equivalent. The alternative formulation offers several features which are absent in the existing theory. (a) In the case of planar deformations of flat incompatible sheets, it yields linear, exactly solvable, equations of equilibrium. (b) When reduced to uniaxial (one-dimensional) deformations, it coincides with the theory of extensible elastica; in particular, for a uniaxially bent sheet it yields an unstrained cylindrical configuration. (c) It gives a simple criterion determining whether an isometric immersion of an incompatible sheet is at mechanical equilibrium with respect to normal forces. For a reference metric of constant positive Gaussian curvature, a spherical cap is found to satisfy this criterion except in an arbitrarily narrow boundary layer.

Pattern transitions in a compressible floating elastic sheet.

Thin rigid sheets floating on a liquid substrate appear, for example, in coatings and surfactant monolayers. Upon uniaxial compression the sheet undergoes transitions from a compressed flat state to a periodic wrinkled pattern to a localized folded pattern. The stability of these states is determined by the in-plane elasticity of the sheet, its bending rigidity, and the hydrostatics of the underlying liquid. Wrinkles and folds, and the wrinkle-to-fold transition, were previously studied for incompressible sheets. In the present work we extend the theory to include finite compressibility. We analyze the details of the flat-to-wrinkle transition, the effects of compressibility on wrinkling and folding, and the compression field associated with pattern formation. The state diagram of the floating sheet including all three states is presented.

Properties of compressible elastica from relativistic analogy.

Kirchhoff's kinetic analogy relates the deformation of an incompressible elastic rod to the classical dynamics of rigid body rotation. We extend the analogy to compressible filaments and find that the extension is similar to the introduction of relativistic effects into the dynamical system. The extended analogy reveals a surprising symmetry in the deformations of compressible elastica. In addition, we use known results for the buckling of compressible elastica to derive the explicit solution for the motion of a relativistic nonlinear pendulum. We discuss cases where the extended Kirchhoff analogy may be useful for the study of other soft matter systems.

Wrinkles and folds in a fluid-supported sheet of finite size.

A laterally confined thin elastic sheet lying on a liquid substrate displays regular undulations, called wrinkles, characterized by a spatially extended energy distribution and a well-defined wavelength λ. As the confinement increases, the deformation energy is progressively localized into a single narrow fold. An exact solution for the deformation of an infinite sheet was previously found, indicating that wrinkles in an infinite sheet are unstable against localization for arbitrarily small confinement. We present an extension of the theory to sheets of finite length L, accounting for the experimentally observed wrinkle-to-fold transition. We derive an exact solution for the periodic deformation in the wrinkled state, and an approximate solution for the localized, folded state. We find that a second-order transition between these two states occurs at a critical confinement Δ(F)=λ(2)/L.