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Mechanics for soft machines

Submitted by Zhigang Suo on

I gave a seminar at Xian Jiaotong University on 27 October 2009.  I recently found the video of the seminar online.  The seminar was in Chinese, but the slides were in English.

If the subject interests you, the following papers will lead you to the literature.

Lectures on Soft Active Materials, 3rd edition

Submitted by Zhigang Suo on

At the invitation of Yonggang Huang, I’ll give 4-hour lectures at the NSF Summer Institute Course on the Mechanics of Soft Materials.   I attach the slides of the lectures, to be given on Monday, 10 May 2010.  An abstract of the lectures follows.

PhD Winterschool on Dielectric Elastomer Transducers

Submitted by Zhigang Suo on

I’ve just come back from a Winter School on Dielectric Elastomer Transducers, held at Monte Verità, Ascona, Switzerland, 10-16 January 2010.  Lectures were given by various people, covering the theory of electromechanical interaction, design of devices, development of materials, and technologies of manufacturing.  I was asked to give three lectures on the theory.  I attach the slides of my lectures.

Dielectric elastomers of interpenetrating networks

Submitted by Zhigang Suo on

Recent experiments have shown that a voltage can induce a large deformation in an elastomer of interpenetrating networks. We describe a model of interpenetrating networks of long and short chains. As the voltage ramps up, the elastomer may undergo a snap-through instability. The network with long chains fills the space and keeps elastomer compliant at small to modest deformation. The network with short chains acts as a safety net that restrains the elastomer from thinning down excessively, averting electrical breakdown.  It appears possible to find a dielectric elastomer capable of giant deformation of actuation.  You can read the paper, or take a look at the slides posted here.

Lectures on Soft Active Materials, 2nd edition

Submitted by Zhigang Suo on

In May 2008, I posted 3 lectures on Soft Active Materials given at UCSB.  I have since given similar lectures on other occasions, but never all three at the same place.  The field has been active.  The lectures have been updated with new items.  I’m now posting the “2nd edition” of these lectures.

  • Dielectric elastomers
  • Neutral gels
  • Polyelectrolyte gels
  • pH-sensitive gels 

The slides are posted as delivered.  No effort is made to eliminate repeating slides. 

Addendum To Pressure and Chemical Potential - a question on hydrostatics

Submitted by Tony Rockwell on

The question was raised in class as to what the appropriate equilibrium condition for a column of fluid at rest should be. Specifically, given we expect a hydrostatic gradient in pressure with height, whether  the chemical potential must be the same throughout the column was questioned. Here are my first thoughts. In brief, I assert that  the chemical potential must be everywhere identical, and that the pv term is balanced, at every height in the column, by the potential energy conferred by position in a gravitational field.