Blog posts

How can we induce twist in tubular structures without applying a torque?

In nature, such behavior is enabled by material anisotropy. In our new work, we show that isotropic bi-layer tubes with twist incompatible layers can twist upon inflation and extension.
Interestingly, the direction of twist can spontaneously reverse as the load increases!

Check out our new paper at EML:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352431621000766

Cambridge University Engineering Department is seeking applicants for the "Ashby Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mechanics and Materials". This Fellowship has recently been established in honour of the pioneering research by Prof. M F Ashby CBE, FRS, FREng. The Fellowship is for 3 years.

Dear colleagues,

Esteemed Colleagues,

this post is to invite you all to attend the next free on-line global live TAFMech webinar on Fracture Mechanics-related topics that will take place this Friday (28/05) at 2.30 PM GMT (3.30 PM BST). The webinar’s details are as follows:

Þ Prof. René de Borst – University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

Title of seminar: Smeared vs discrete approaches in computational fracture mechanics

Date/time: 28 May 2021 at 2.30 PM GMT (3.30 PM BST)

Dear colleagues,
We invite you to see the preprint of our new paper "Flexoelectricity in soft elastomers and the molecular mechanisms underpinning the design and emergence of giant flexoelectricity" that will appear in PNAS. Here we present a molecular-to-continuum scale theory for the flexoelectric effect in elastomers. The theory unveils a mechanism for achieving giant flexoelectricity--which finds support in prior experimental results; it is then leveraged for designing elastomers for 1) piezoelectricity, 2) tuning the direction of flexoelectricity, and 3) flexoelectricity which is invariant with respect to spurious deformations (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2102477118).

The recent literature of finite eignestrains in nonlinear elastic solids is reviewed, and Eshelby's inclusion problem at finite strains is revisited. The subtleties of the analysis of combinations of finite eigenstrains for the example of  combined finite radial, azimuthal, axial, and twist eigenstrains in a finite circular cylindrical bar are discussed. The stress field of a spherical inclusion with uniform pure dilatational eigenstrain in a radially-inhomogeneous spherical ball made of arbitrary incompressible isotropic solids is analyzed.