Topology affects the crumpling of growing elastic sheets
Discovery could lead to new metamaterials The post Topology affects the crumpling of growing elastic sheets appeared first on Physics World .
A novel mechanism governing the geometric shapes of growing elastic sheets has been identified by Israeli physicists Eran Sharon, Michael Moshe, and Yafei Zhang. Through simulations and experiments, the researchers discovered that dimpled patterns forming in growing elastic objects have topological origins, separate from geometric incompatibilities.
The discovery could lead to a deeper comprehension of how complex shapes emerge in nature and enable the creation of new artificial materials. Elastic sheets are common in nature, appearing in leaves, petals, and organs' cellular linings. Due to local regions within them having preferred mechanical rest states, natural sheets exhibit wrinkling, bending, and buckling – known as geometric incompatibility.
Researchers have attempted to replicate this mechanism in synthetic materials, but a new topological phenomenon was found to be responsible for unexpected crumpling in a growing sphere. Unlike previously known geometric incompatibilities, this topological transformation is quantifiable and emerges from cutting the sphere, leading to a new state with different mechanical properties.
The discovery opens new avenues for understanding shaping mechanisms in morphogenetic processes and expanding the possibilities for designing synthetic structures with desired shapes and mechanical functions.
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