A theory for three-dimensional response of micropolar plates

Through combined applications of the transfer-matrix method and asymptotic expansion technique,we formulate a theory to predict the three-dimensional response of micropolar plates.No ad hoc assumptions regarding through-thickness assumptions of the field variables are made,and the governing equations are two-dimensional,with the displacements and microrotations of the mid-plane as the unknowns.Once the deformation of the mid-plane is solved,a three-dimensional micropolar elastic field within the plate is generated,which is exact up to the second order except in the boundary region close to the plate edge.As an illustrative example,the bending of a clamped infinitely long plate caused by a uniformly distributed transverse force is analyzed and discussed in detail.

Preload-responsive adhesion of microfibre arrays to rough surfaces

Adhesion of bio-inspired microfibre arrays to a rough surface is studied theoretically. The array consists of vertical elastic rods fixed on a rigid backing layer, and the surface is modeled by rigid steps with a normally distributed height. Analytical expressions are obtained for the adhesion forces in both the approach and retraction processes. It is shown that, with the increasing preload, the pull-off force increases at first and then attains a plateau value. The results agree with the previous experiments and are expected helpful in adhesion control of the array in practical applications.

Buckling morphology of glassy nematic films with staggered director field

The photo-induced buckling of axially periodic glassy nematic films with alternating stripped director domains is explored by the F¨oppl-von K′arm′an plate theory along with a modified kinetics approach.The effects of domain widths on the critical light intensity as well as the buckling morphology are examined numerically.It is found that in most cases the buckled film forms regularly aligned dimples and protrusions,but shows large scale bending perpendicular to the periodic axis if the widths of the stripes are nearly the same.In addition,change in light intensity is shown to alter the wavenumber of the buckling pattern.These results are expected helpful to the design of shape-shifting structures with glassy nematic films.

Moisture-triggered actuator and detector with high-performance: interface engineering of graphene oxide/ethyl cellulose

Actuators that can directly convert other forms of environmental energy into mechanical work offer great application prospects in intriguing energy applications and smart devices. But to-date, low cohesion strength of the interface and humidity responsive actuators primarily limit their applications. Herein, by experimentally optimizing interface of bimorph structure, we build graphene oxide/ethyl cellulose bidirectional bending actuators — a case of bimorphs with fast and reversible shape changes in response to environmental humidity gradients. Meanwhile, we employ the actuator as the engine to drive piezoelectric detector. In this case, graphene oxide and ethyl cellulose are combined with chemical bonds, successfully building a bimorph with binary synergy strengthening and toughening. The excellent hygroscopicity of graphene oxide accompanied with huge volume expansion triggers giant moisture responsiveness greater than 90 degrees. Moreover, the open circuit voltage of piezoelectric detector holds a peak value around 0.1 V and exhibits excellent reversibility. We anticipate that humidity-responsive actuator and detector hold promise for the application and expansion of smart devices in varieties of multifunctional nanosystems.

Photo-Activated Snap-Through of Nematic Shallow Spherical Shells

Photo-responsive nematic polymers can transduce light into mechanical work,but the rate is limited by the quasi-static deformation.To enhance the work output,a strat・egy of exploiting photo-triggered snap-through of glassy nematic shallow spherical shells with hemeotropic director alignment is examined here.The criterion for the nonlinear instability is derived analytically by using the modified iteration method.It is shown that,for thin shells of small height and large basal radius,snap-through can be caused by an incident light with moderate irradiation intensity.The phenomenon may inspire some new designs of contactless and ultra-fast actuation devices with high-rate output of mechanical work.

Emergent antisymmetric wrinkling patterns in films on ridged substrates

We report the formation of antisymmetric wrinkling patterns in films on ridged substrates induced by the buckling instability of the substrates via finite element simulations and experiments.Our simulated results reveal that the uniaxial compression along the ridge can trigger both the wrinkling instability of the film and the lateral buckling instability of the ridge.The latter could change the wrinkles from a symmetric pattern to an antisymmetric pattern in a range of film-substrate modulus ratio and aspect ratio of the ridge profile,as validated by the experimental observations.A three-dimensional phase diagram with four buckling patterns,i.e.,sole ridge buckling pattern,antisymmetric wrinkling pattern with different wavelengths from ridge buckling,symmetric wrinkling pattern without ridge buckling,and antisymmetric wrinkling pattern with the same wavelength as ridge buckling,is built with respect to the uniaxial compression,modulus ratio,and aspect ratio.The results not only elucidate how and when the interplay between the wrinkling instability and the ridge instability results in the formation of the antisymmetric wrinkling pattern but also offer a way to generate controllable complex wrinkling patterns.

Surface etching induced ultrathin sandwich structure realizing enhanced photocatalytic activity

Photocatalytic conversion efficiency is limited by serious charge carrier recombination. Efficient carrier separation is usually achieved by elegantly-designed multi-component structures connected by directional electric field. Herein, we developed a twodimensional(2 D) sandwich structure, as a new photocatalytic system, to realize high-efficiency carrier separation. This strategy integrated multifunction into a single structure for the first time, which successfully introduces a stable built-in electric field,realizing high-effective carrier separation. Besides, the carrier concentration is dramatically increased due to dimensional confinement. Benefiting from above synergic advantages, 2 D sandwich photocatalyst achieves the highest nitrogen fixation rate(435 μmol g^(-1) h^(-1)) in inorganic solid photocatalysts under visible light irradiation. We anticipate that 2 D sandwich photocatalyst holds promises for the application and expansion of 2 D materials in photocatalysis research.

Improved phase field model of dislocation intersections

Revealing the long-range elastic interaction and short-range core reaction between intersecting dislocations is crucial to the understanding of dislocation-based strain hardening mechanisms in crystalline solids.Phase field model has shown great potential in modeling dislocation dynamics by both employing the continuum microelasticity theory to describe the elastic interactions and incorporating theγ-surface into the crystalline energy to enable the core reactions.Since the crystalline energy is approximately formulated by linear superposition of interplanar potential of each slip plane in the previous phase field model,it does not fully account for the reactions between dislocations gliding in intersecting slip planes.In this study,an improved phase field model of dislocation intersections is proposed through updating the crystalline energy by coupling the potential of two intersecting planes,and then applied to study the collinear interaction followed by comparison with the previous simulation result using discrete dislocation dynamics.Collinear annihilation captured only in the improved phase field model is found to strongly affect the junction formation and plastic flow in multislip systems.The results indicate that the improvement is essential for phase field model of dislocation intersections.

Modeling epidemic spread in transportation networks:A review

The emergence of novel infectious diseases has become a serious global problem.Convenient transportation networks lead to rapid mobilization in the context of globalization,which is an important factor underlying the rapid spread of infectious diseases.Transportation systems can cause the transmission of viruses during the epidemic period,but they also support the reopening of economies after the epidemic.Understanding the mechanism of the impact of mobility on the spread of infectious diseases is thus important,as is establishing the risk model of the spread of infectious diseases in transportation networks.In this study,the basic structure and application of various epidemic spread models are reviewed,including mathematical models,statistical models,network-based models,and simulation models.The advantages and limitations of model applications within transportation systems are analyzed,including dynamic characteristics of epidemic transmission and decision supports for management and control.Lastly,research trends and prospects are discussed.It is suggested that there is a need for more in-depth research to examine the mutual feedback mechanism of epidemics and individual behavior,as well as the proposal and evaluation of intervention measures.The findings in this study can help evaluate disease intervention strategies,provide decision supports for transport policy during the epidemic period,and ameliorate the deficiencies of the existing system.

Damping of Particle-Reinforced Composites Due to Interfacial Sliding

Mechanical damping of composites reinforced by randomly distributed particles due to interfacial sliding is analyzed. The matrix is elastically isotropic, and the particles are assumed rigid and of identical radii. An auxiliary problem is solved at first for the steady-state response of an infinite matrix containing a single inclusion to a harmonic external load. The result is then used to derive the explicit expression of the specific damping capability of the composite by using Mori-Tanaka＇s mean-field method. Numerical results are given and discussed in detail. It is concluded that the overall damping of the composite depends on several factors, including volume fraction of particles, Poisson＇s ratio of matrix and a dimensionless parameter that incorporates the combined effects of particle size, matrix stiffness, interracial viscosity and vibration frequency. The result is expected to be helpful in tailoring the damping performance of particle-reinforced composites.