Elastic Interface Research Articles

Elastic interface in few‐layer graphene/poly(vinylidenefluoride‐trifluoroethylene‐chlorofluoroethylene) nanocomposite with improved polarization

AbstractPolymer film capacitor exhibits extensive applications in advanced electronics because of its flexibility and huge power density. The current research interests of polymer capacitor are addressed on large energy density and high charge–discharge efficiency of composite film. Here we developed the compatible elastic interface composed of hyperbranched poly(methyl acrylate) copolymer in graphene/poly(vinylidenefluoride‐trifluoroethylene‐chlorofluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE‐CFE)) nanocomposite with high energy capability. This hyperbranched copolymer comprising polyethylene core that was grafted with poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) segments and pyrene units was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. The few‐layer graphene was exfoliated with assistance of hyperbranched copolymer that was attached on surface of flakes via π‐π non‐covalent interactions between pyrene groups and delocalized π electrons of nanosheets. Graphene/P(VDF‐TrFE‐CFE) nanocomposite film was prepared by solution casting method. The compatibility between graphene and fluoropolymer is greatly improved due to the elastic interphase of PMA segments in hyperbranched copolymer, which enhances the interfacial polarization and decreases the accumulation of charge carriers under high electric field. The energy density of 7.0 J/cm3 with charge–discharge efficiency of 60% at 300 MV/m is achieved for 0.1 wt% nanocomposite. This work reveals an effective architecture of polymer composite with elastic interface to increase the energy capability of polymer dielectric film.

Improvement mechanism of energy conversion efficiency in ultrasonic motor with flexible rotor

Flexible rotors are widely used in traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motors (TRUMs) because of their higher energy conversion efficiency; however, there have been few reports on how flexible rotors improve the energy conversion efficiency of ultrasonic motors. In this study, we investigate the improvement mechanism of energy conversion efficiency in TRUMs with flexible rotors. A 3D finite element (FE) model with full coupling among a piezoelectric coupled stator, rotor, friction layer, and the rigid–elastic contact interface of the stator and friction layer is established. To analyze the mechanism by which the efficiency of the TRUM is improved, the contact interface and rotor vibration information are extracted. Taking TRUM-60 as an example, the transient solution method and modal analysis method are used to solve the model. It is found that when the stator mode is B09, the flexible rotor mode is B19. The energy conversion efficiency of the TRUM is obtained from the ratio of output power to the electrical input power of the model solution. The results are validated using 3D vibration measurements and energy conversion efficiency experiments. The simulation result shows that the motor with flexible rotor improves the energy conversion efficiency compared with the motor with rigid rotor, which can be attributed to two reasons: first, the axial amplitude ratio of the flexible rotor to the stator is reduced; second, the flexible rotor reduces the radial friction. This study reveals the influence of flexible rotor on the output efficiency and can thus provide guidance for rotor design.

α phase growth and branching in titanium alloys

ABSTRACT The morphology and spatial distribution of alpha (α) precipitates have been mapped as a function of Mo content in Ti-Mo binary alloys employing a combinatorial approach. Heat-treatments were carried out on compositionally graded Ti-xMo samples processed using a rapid throughput laser engineered net shape (LENS) process. The composition space spans 1.5 at% to 6 at% Mo with ageing at 750°C, 650°C and 600°C following a β solution treatment. Three distinct regimes of α morphology and distribution were observed. These are colony-dominated microstructures originating from grain boundary α allotriomorphs, bundles of intragranular α laths, and homogeneously distributed individual fine-scale α laths. Branching of the α precipitates was observed in all these domains in a manner reminiscent of solid-state dendritic growth. The phenomenon is particularly apparent at low volume fractions of α. Similar features are present in a wide variety of alloy compositions. 3-dimensional features of such branched structures have been analysed. Simulation of the branching process by phase field methods incorporating anisotropy in the α/β interface energy and elasticity suggests that it can be initiated at growth ledges present at broad faces of the α laths, driven by the enhancement of the diffusion flux at these steps. The dependence of branching on various parameters such as supersaturation and diffusivity, and microstructural features like ledge height and distribution and the presence of adjacent α variants has been evaluated.

Effect of interfacial energy combined with geometrical nonlinearity on the finite fracture analysis of composite single-lap joints

This paper investigates the effects of interface energy and geometrical nonlinearity on the fracture behavior of composite single-lap joints. The physical and mathematical model is based on the finite fracture mechanics and the interface elasticity. An experiment-based approach is utilized to determine the unknown interfacial parameters. A stress-energy coupled criterion is employed to predict the failure load based on the framework of finite fracture mechanics. Solutions are validated through the comparisons of experimental data against the predicted results from the present approach. The results predicted agree well with the experimental data when the geometrical nonlinearity and the interface energy are considered. The numerical investigations reveal that both mode I and mode II incremental energy release rates are overestimated in the linear analysis, mode II incremental energy release rates about twice as much energy as mode I, the interface energy will make the single-lap joints more prone to mode I fracture failure.

Evolution equation for nonlinear Lucassen waves, with application to a threshold phenomenon.

A nonlinear, fractional, surface wave equation with a spatial derivative of second order was developed by Kappler, Shrivastava, Schneider, and Netz [Phys. Rev. Fluids 2, 114804 (2017)] for propagation along an elastic interface coupled to a viscous incompressible liquid. Linear theory for the attenuation and dispersion was developed originally by Lucassen [Trans. Faraday Soc. 64, 2221 (1968)]. Kappler et al. introduced a fractional time derivative to account for the Lucassen wave attenuation and dispersion, and they included quadratic and cubic nonlinearity associated with compression of the elastic interface. Presented here is an integrated form of their time domain equation for progressive waves that is first order in the spatial derivative. Solutions of this evolution equation capture the main features of waveforms predicted by the full model equation of Kappler et al., especially the formation and propagation of shocks, while the evolution equation can be solved numerically with substantially less computational cost. Approximate analytical expressions obtained from the evolution equation for the nonlinear propagation speed and attenuation of a compression pulse reveal that a threshold phenomenon discussed by Kappler et al. is due to competition between quadratic and cubic nonlinearity associated with a lipid monolayer interface.

Uniqueness of the shape of neutral inhomogeneities with interface effects in anisotropic plane elasticity

In the context of classical interface elasticity theory, the existence and uniqueness of elliptical neutral inhomogeneities in an isotropic plane have been verified in the literature for plane deformation when the interface effects are described by variable interface parameters and the matrix is subjected to a uniform external loading. In this paper, we examine similar existence and uniqueness of neutral inhomogeneities in an anisotropic plane under the same conditions. We show that for an anisotropic inhomogeneity-matrix system under plane deformation and uniform external in-plane loadings, (i) the inhomogeneity is necessarily elliptical to achieve neutrality even if the interface parameters are allowed to vary at the interface, and (ii) the inhomogeneity must be circular to ensure its neutrality when the interface parameters keep constant on the entire interface.

Roughening of the anharmonic elastic interface in correlated random media.

We study the roughening properties of the anharmonic elastic interface in the presence of temporally correlated noise. The model can be seen as a generalization of the anharmonic Larkin model, recently introduced by Purrello, Iguain, and Kolton [Phys. Rev. E 99, 032105 (2019)2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.99.032105], to investigate the effect of higher-order corrections to linear elasticity in the fate of interfaces. We find analytical expressions for the critical exponents as a function of the anharmonicity index n, the noise correlator range θ∈[0,1/2], and dimension d. In d=1 we find that the interface becomes faceted and exhibits anomalous scaling for θ>1/4 for any degree of anharmonicity n>1. Analytical expressions for the anomalous exponents α_{loc} and κ are obtained and compared with a numerical integration of the model. Our theoretical results show that anomalous roughening cannot exist for this model in dimensions d>1.

Multidimensional Tactile Sensor with a Thin Compound Eye-Inspired Imaging System.

Artificial tactile sensing for robots is a counterpart to the human sense of touch, serving as a feedback interface for sensing and interacting with the environment. A vision-based tactile sensor has emerged as a novel and advantageous branch of artificial tactile sensors. Compared with conventional tactile sensors, vision-based tactile sensors possess stronger potential thanks to acquiring multimodal contact information in much higher spatial resolution, although they typically suffer from bulky size and fabrication challenges. In this article, we report a thin vision-based tactile sensor that draws inspiration from natural compound eye structures and demonstrate its capability of sensing three-dimensional (3D) force. The sensor is composed of an array of vision units, an elastic touching interface, and a supporting structure with illumination. Experiments validated the sensor's advantages, including competitive spatial resolution of deformation as high as 1016 dpi on a 5 × 8 mm2 sensing area, superior accuracy of 3D force measurement at levels of 0.018 N for tangential force and 0.213 N (0.108 N at the center region) for normal force, and real-time processing at 30 Hz, while achieving a thin size of 5 mm. We further demonstrate the sensor capability in sensing 3D force and slip occurrence in real grasping experiments. This device paves the way for robotic applications that require rich tactile information with miniaturized sensor structure.

Physicochemical Characterization of an Exopolysaccharide Produced by Lipomyces sp. and Investigation of Rheological and Interfacial Behavior.

The present study aimed to evaluate the rheological and interfacial behaviors of a novel microbial exopolysaccharide fermented by L. starkeyi (LSEP). The structure of LSEP was measured by LC-MS, 1H and 13C NMR spectra, and FT-IR. Results showed that the monosaccharide composition of LSEP was D-mannose (8.53%), D-glucose (79.25%), D-galactose (7.15%), and L-arabinose (5.07%); there existed the anomeric proton of α-configuration and the anomeric carbon of α- and β-configuration; there appeared the characteristic absorption peak of the phosphate ester bond. The molecular weight of LSEP was 401.8 kDa. The water holding capacity (WHC, 2.10 g/g) and oil holding capacity (OHC, 12.89 g/g) were also evaluated. The results of rheological properties showed that the aqueous solution of LSEP was a non-Newtonian fluid, exhibiting the shear-thinning characteristics. The adsorption of LSEP can reduce the interfacial tension (11.64 mN/m) well and form an elastic interface layer at the MCT–water interface. Such functional properties make LSEP a good candidate for use as thickener, gelling agent, and emulsifier to form long-term emulsions for food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products.

Assessment of low salinity waterflooding in carbonate cores: Interfacial viscoelasticity and tuning process efficiency by use of non-ionic surfactant

Hypothesis. A large number of papers discuss merits and mechanisms of low salinity waterflooding. For each mechanism proposed, there are counter examples to invalidate the stated mechanism. The effect of wettability from low salinity water, which is predominantly stated in literature as the dominant mechanism, may not be valid. We introduce a direct correlation between oil-brine interfacial viscoelasticity and oil recovery from waterflooding.Experiments. The oil recovery is investigated in carbonate rocks for three light crude oils, by injection of a wide range of aqueous phases, ranging from deionized water to very high salinity brine of 28 wt%, and low concentration of a non-ionic surfactant at 100 ppm. The oil-brine interfacial viscoelasticity is quantified and supplementary measurements of interfacial tension and wettability are performed.Findings. In our experiments, oil recovery is higher from high salinity water injection than from low salinity water injection. A strong relationship is observed between interface elasticity and oil recovery for different concentrations of salt in the injected brine as well as for ultra-low concentration surfactant. An elastic oil-brine interface results in high oil recovery. The surfactant molecule we have selected prefers the oil–water interface despite high solubility in the oil phase and makes ultra-low concentration of 100 ppm in injection water very effective. Contrary to widespread assertions in the literature, we find no definitive correlation between oil recovery and wettability.

Modelling small and large displacements of a sphere on an elastic half-space exposed to a dynamic force

Spheres at medium interfaces are encountered in many applications, including in atomic force microscopy or indentation tests. Although the Hertz theory describes the contact mechanics between an elastic sphere and an elastic half-space for static loading and small deformations very well, there is a need to consider the density of the medium, the mass of the sphere and the radiation damping for dynamic loading to obtain reliable results. In this study, an analytical model for predicting the small and large displacements of a sphere on an elastic half-space exposed to a dynamic force is developed. For this purpose, after summarizing a mathematical model that has recently been proposed for the sphere at a medium interface, a finite element model for the sphere at an elastic interface is developed. Based on the comparison of the mathematical and finite element models, an improved analytical model for the sphere at an elastic interface is developed. In addition to considering the elastic properties of the medium and the size of the sphere, the model developed here takes into account the density of the medium, the mass of the sphere, and the radiation damping, and the model is valid for small and large sphere displacements. The developed model can be used to understand the dynamic responses of spherical objects at medium interfaces in practical applications. Furthermore, the proposed model is a remarkable tool for undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in the fields of engineering, materials science and physics to gain insight into the dynamic responses of spheres at medium interfaces.

The problem of the partial delamination of the elastic interface thin inclusion in the conditions of longitudinal shear of the bimaterial

The problem of longitudinal displacement of a bi -material with a thin inclusion of arbitrary physical and mechanical nature at the interface of the matrix materials is considered. The bulk is loaded by normal compression and various force factors in the longitudinal direction. The possibility of partial delamination of a part of the boundary between the inclusion and the matrix, where dry friction slip occurs, is assumed. A complete system of equations for the formulated problem is constructed. It is proposed to construct the solution using the structural modular method of jump functions, a description of which is given. A condition for the appearance of a slip zone on the inclusion-matrix boundary is founded. A convergent iterative algorithm for numerically analytical determination of the size of this zone is developed.

Solutions of a comprehensive dispersion relation for waves at the elastic interface of two viscous fluids

Wave propagation in a system of two arbitrary fluids separated by a contaminated interface in the form of an insoluble monolayer is investigated. The effects of four parameters (density ratio, R; kinematic viscosity ratio, V; Marangoni number, P; and squared wave-Reynolds number, σ) on the solutions of a comprehensive dispersion relation for these waves are analyzed. In the first part of the manuscript, several special cases are considered wherein the comprehensive dispersion relation is modified to a simple polynomial equation and its numerical solutions are obtained for σ∈[0,1]. A bifurcation is observed at σ=σb in two of the solutions in each case; and the system is shown to be overdamped for σ<σb, and underdamped for σ>σb. The relative influences of {R,V,P} on σb are also analyzed, and it is found that in general, σb is a strong function of {R,V}, but a weak function of P. In the second part of the manuscript, numerical solutions of the comprehensive dispersion relation are obtained for waves in a decane-water system, in the limit of {P≫1,σ≫1}; and these solutions are classified to correspond to a transverse wave or to a longitudinal wave. The presence of a maximum/minimum in the frequency of oscillation and in the damping rate is observed for the transverse/longitudinal waves. For both the transverse and longitudinal wave modes, the relative deviation of the numerical solution (obtained from the comprehensive dispersion relation) from the respective approximate solution (obtained from a simple dispersion relation) is calculated. The relative deviation, though small, cannot be neglected because it accounts for the effects of elasticity and of capillarity/gravity; and disregarding it in the analyses will fail to yield the inherent maximum/minimum in the frequency of oscillation and in the damping rate for the transverse/longitudinal waves.

On the stress analysis around a nanoinhomogeneity embedded in a half-space with the account of Steigmann–Ogden interface effects

This paper examines the interface elasticity between an elastic half-space and a spherical nanoinhomogeneity subjected to a unidirectional far-field tension that is parallel to the half-space plane boundary. The spherical interface is modeled by the full version of Steigmann–Ogden interface theory. Due to their marginal significance, the effects of half-space plane boundary are neglected. The problem is solved by decomposing the unidirectional load into an all-around and an equal-but-opposite traction field. Benefitting from the property of axial symmetry, the former subproblem is solved by the sole use of Boussinesq displacement potentials. The latter condition is addressed by six harmonic functions extracting from Boussinesq, Papkovich–Neuber and Dougall displacement potentials. The relations between cylindrical and spherical harmonic functions are employed to clear the tractions along the half-space plane boundary and to satisfy the nonclassical traction equilibrium conditions across the matrix/nanoinhomogeneity interface. Truncating the resultant infinite series and equating the coefficients preceding Legendre polynomials, associated Legendre functions as well as their derivatives lead to a system of algebraic equations with respect to the dimensionless unknown parameters in displacement potentials. Extensive parametric studies are further performed in order to analyze the importance of interface tension, interface Lamé constants, interface flexural rigidities, shear moduli ratio and nanoinhomogeneity radius-to-depth ratio on stress distributions and stress concentrations. Comparisons against both the classical and the Gurtin–Murdoch solutions help to clarify the separate effects of individual interface material properties. Stresses inside a soft nanoinhomogeneity is most affected by the additional incorporation of interface flexural rigidities. In addition, the deviatoric component of the interface curvature change tensor is found to be more important than the mean part for the proposed nanoinhomogeneity problem.

High-Resolution 3-Dimensional Contact Deformation Tracking for FingerVision Sensor With Dense Random Color Pattern

Recent studies on vision-based tactile sensing have shown promising results on the perception of contact information, which could improve the performance of dexterous manipulations. However, 3-dimensional contact deformation tracking at a higher resolution is desired and remains a challenge for vision-based tactile sensors with monocular configurations. In this work, a similar hardware structure to our previous FingerVision sensor is adopted. The dot markers are replaced with a novel random color pattern as the sensor's tracking target and a dense optical flow algorithm is used to track the deformation of its elastic contact interface. This results in a more accurate 2-dimensional deformation field estimation at a higher resolution in comparison with that obtained using sparse dot markers. Additionally, the denser and more accurate deformation field enables depth estimation with better fidelity. To achieve depth estimation purely from the optical flow field, Gaussian density feature extraction and processing framework are proposed. The resulting depth map can be used independently as a tactile sensing modality, or jointly with the accurate in-plane displacement field as a more complete deformation tracking of contact interfaces for vision-based tactile sensors.

Creep Motion of Elastic Interfaces Driven in a Disordered Landscape

The thermally activated creep motion of an elastic interface weakly driven on a disordered landscape is one of the best examples of glassy universal dynamics. Its understanding has evolved over the past 30 years thanks to a fruitful interplay among elegant scaling arguments, sophisticated analytical calculations, efficient optimization algorithms, and creative experiments. In this article, starting from the pioneer arguments, we review the main theoretical and experimental results that lead to the current physical picture of the creep regime. In particular, we discuss recent works unveiling the collective nature of such ultraslow motion in terms of elementary activated events. We show that these events control the mean velocity of the interface and cluster into “creep avalanches” statistically similar to the deterministic avalanches observed at the depinning critical threshold. The associated spatiotemporal patterns of activated events have been recently observed in experiments with magnetic domain walls. The emergent physical picture is expected to be relevant for a large family of disordered systems presenting thermally activated dynamics.

Coupled effect of curved surface and interface on stress state of wrinkled thin film coating at the nanoscale

AbstractIn this paper, we present the model of continuum mechanics for an analysis of the size‐dependent elastic state of the wrinkled thin film coating with the nanosized thickness. For this purpose, we formulate the two‐dimensional boundary value problem for the film‐on‐substrate system under plane strain conditions in terms of the complex variable. To analyse the effect of surface and interface elasticity, the surface and interphase domains are modelled as negligibly thin layers adhering to the bulk phases without slipping. The algorithm of deriving the expressions for the stress tensor components in the first‐order approximation of the boundary perturbation method is described. Based on this algorithm, the influence of the size of the wrinkles, film‐to‐substrate stiffness ratio and film thickness on the stress concentration in the film is examined.

Interface-dependent tunable elastic interface states in soft metamaterials

Elastic interface states, which are usually generated at the interface of two connected domains with opposite topological invariant, have been successfully demonstrated in periodic structures. Therefore, the interface states determined by the position of interface between two domain walls in one-dimensional elastic systems are rarely reported, which were mainly restricted by the mirror-symmetric geometry of the unit cell. Jointing interface-dependent interface states were mostly implemented with analogs of quantum valley Hall effects in two-dimensional systems. Herein, we first observe two types of elastic interface states simultaneously occurred in one-dimensional combined metamaterials, where two interface modes separately located at two connected domain walls and they can be actively tuned simply through deforming two components on two sides. Flexible and versatile frequency shift and switch on–off characteristics of combination of two interface modes are demonstrated, which may be employed in the multifunctional elastic wave filters, tunable energy harvesting, and elastography devices. Our primitive cell of the soft metamaterial, which breaks the inversion symmetry along the horizontal direction, may be generalized to realize tunable elastic valley Hall edge states.

Quantifying the High-Temperature Separation Behavior of Lamellar Interfaces in γ-Titanium Aluminide Under Tensile Loading by Molecular Dynamics

γ-titanium aluminide (TiAl) alloys with fully lamellar microstructure possess excellent properties for high-temperature applications. Such fully lamellar microstructure has interfaces at different length scales. The separation behavior of the lamellae at these interfaces is crucial for the mechanical properties of the whole material. Unfortunately, quantifying it by experiments is difficult. Therefore, we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to this end. Specifically, we study the high-temperature separation behavior under tensile loading of the four different kinds of lamellar interfaces appearing in TiAl, namely, the γ/α2, γ/γPT, γ/γTT, and γ/γRB interfaces. In our simulations, we use two different atomistic interface models, a defect-free (Type-1) model and a model with preexisting voids (Type-2). Clearly, the latter is more physical but studying the former also helps to understand the role of defects. Our simulation results show that among the four interfaces studied, the γ/α2 interface possesses the highest yield strength, followed by the γ/γPT, γ/γTT, and γ/γRB interfaces. For Type-1 models, our simulations reveal failure at the interface for all γ/γ interfaces but not for the γ/α2 interface. By contrast, for Type-2 models, we observe for all the four interfaces failure at the interface. Our atomistic simulations provide important data to define the parameters of traction–separation laws and cohesive zone models, which can be used in the framework of continuum mechanical modeling of TiAl. Temperature-dependent model parameters were identified, and the complete traction–separation behavior was established, in which interface elasticity, interface plasticity, and interface damage could be distinguished. By carefully eliminating the contribution of bulk deformation from the interface behavior, we were able to quantify the contribution of interface plasticity and interface damage, which can also be related to the dislocation evolution and void nucleation in the atomistic simulations.

Closed form second order energy release rate in a cracked elastic beam

This study presents a closed form, second order, Mode-I fracture mechanics solution for a cracked elastic beam subject to axial compressive load. The solution considers a crack with a symmetric parabolic geometric imperfection in the beam and provides the strain energy release rate (SERR) as a continuous function of the axial load level. The effect of the elastic interface is considered by means of an additional equivalent beam length determined from a Winkler beam model. The closed form solution is corroborated through numerical non-linear fracture analyses for different geometries with isotropic and transverse isotropic material properties. The results show that the analytical models provide accurate predictions with an accuracy ranging between 2% and 4%. It is analytically adduced that the second order SERR in a cracked beam subject to axial loading is stable inasmuch the SERR decreases with increasing crack length. Moreover, the results show a significant influence of the elastic interface on the SERR.