MOSS@Harvard SEAS
Applied Mechanics Colloquia: Morphing of Slender Structures by Swelling – Prof. Douglas P. Holmes
Abstract:
Swelling-induced deformations of slender structures occur in many biological and industrial environments, and the shapes and patterns that emerge can vary across many length scales. The dynamics of fluid movement within elastic networks, and the interplay between a structure’s geometry and its boundary conditions, play a crucial role in the morphology of growing tissues, the shrinkage of mud and moss, and the curling of cartilage, leaves, and pine cones. This talk will examine the geometric nonlinearities that occur as slender structures are swollen – surfaces will crease, beams will bend and snap, circular plates will warp and twist, and fibers will coalesce and detach.
