Blog posts

Petals and leaves are usually curled and exhibit intriguing morphology evolution upon growth, which contributes to their important biological functions. To understand the underlying morphoelastic mechanism and to determine the crucial factors that govern the growth-induced instability patterning in curved petals and leaves, we develop an active thin shell model that can describe variable curvatures and spontaneous growth, within the framework of general differential geometry based on curvilinear coordinates and hyperelastic deformation theory.

The physical properties of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are closely related to their morphology; meanwhile GNRs can easily slide on surfaces (e.g., superlubricity), which may largely affect the configuration and hence the properties. However, the morphological evolution of GNRs during sliding remain elusive. We explore the intriguing tail swing behavior of GNRs under various sliding configurations on Au substrate. Two distinct modes of tail swing emerge, characterized by regular and irregular swings, depending on the GNR width and initial position relative to the substrate.

This paper is dedicated to Professor Nasr Ghoniem on the occasion of his retirement.

(To appear in Journal of Materials Science: Materials Theory)

Abstract

A continuum mechanical model of coupled dislocation based plasticity and fracture at finite deformation is proposed. Motivating questions and target applications of the model are sketched.

We have two openings for PhD studies at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.