Marc Durand

Stiffest elastic networks

The rigidity of a network of elastic beams is closely related to its microstructure. We show both numerically and theoretically that there is a class of isotropic networks, which are stiffer than any other isotropic network of same density. The elastic moduli of these stiffest elastic networks are explicitly given. They constitute upper-bounds, which compete or improve the well-known Hashin–Shtrikman bounds. We provide a convenient set of criteria (necessary and sufficient conditions) to identify these networks and show that their displacement field under uniform loading conditions is affine down to the microscopic scale. Finally, examples of such networks with periodic arrangement are presented, in both two and three dimensions. In particular, we present an optimal and isotropic three-dimensional structure which, to our knowledge, is the first one to be presented as such.

Structural properties of stiff elastic networks

Networks of elastic beams can deform either by stretching or bending of their members. The primary mode of deformation (bending or stretching) crucially depends on the specific details of the network architecture. In order to shed light on the relationship between microscopic geometry and macroscopic mechanics, we characterize the structural features of networks which deform uniformly, through the stretching of the beams only. We provide a convenient set of geometrical criteria to identify such networks, and derive the values of their effective elastic moduli. The analysis of these criteria elucidates the variability of mechanical response of elastic networks. In particular, our study rationalizes the difference in mechanical behavior of cellular and fiber networks.

Foam drainage. Possible influence of a non-newtonian surface shear viscosity

We describe forced drainage experiments of foams made with model surfactant solutions with different surface rheology. We analyze the origin of two distinct drainage transitions reported in the literature, between regimes where the bubble surfaces are mobile or rigid. We propose that both transitions are related to the surface shear viscosity and to its shear thinning behavior. Shear thinning could also account for the huge discrepancies between measurements reported in the literature. The role of surface tension gradients, i.e. Marangoni effect, could not possibly explain the behavior observed with the different solutions.

Statistical mechanics of two-dimensional foams

The methods of statistical mechanics are applied to two-dimensional foams under macroscopic agitation. A new variable —the total cell curvature— is introduced, which plays the role of energy in conventional statistical thermodynamics. The probability distribution of the number of sides for a cell of given area is derived. This expression allows to correlate the distribution of sides (topological disorder) to the distribution of sizes (geometrical disorder) in a foam. The model predictions agree well with available experimental data.

Hydrodynamics of bilayer membranes with diffusing transmembrane proteins

We consider the hydrodynamics of lipid bilayers containing transmembrane proteins of arbitrary shape. This biologically-motivated problem is relevant to the cell membrane, whose fluctuating dynamics play a key role in phenomena ranging from cell migration, intercellular transport, and cell communication. Using Onsagers variational principle, we derive the equations that govern the relaxation dynamics of the membrane shape, of the mass densities of the bilayer leaflets, and of the diffusing proteins concentration. With our generic formalism, we obtain several results on membrane dynamics. We find that proteins that span the bilayer increase the intermonolayer friction coefficient. The renormalization, which can be significant, is in inverse proportion to the proteins mobility. Second, we find that asymmetric proteins couple to the membrane curvature and to the difference in monolayer densities. For practically all accessible membrane tensions (σ > 10(-8) N m(-1)) we show that the protein density is the slowest relaxing variable. Furthermore, its relaxation rate decreases at small wavelengths due to the coupling to curvature. We apply our formalism to the large-scale diffusion of a concentrated protein patch. We find that the diffusion profile is not self-similar, owing to the wavevector dependence of the effective diffusion coefficient.

An efficient Cellular Potts Model algorithm that forbids cell fragmentation

The Cellular Potts Model (CPM) is a lattice based modeling technique which is widely used for simulating cellular patterns such as foams or biological tissues. Despite its realism and generality, the standard Monte Carlo algorithm used in the scientific literature to evolve this model preserves connectivity of cells on a limited range of simulation temperature only. We present a new algorithm in which cell fragmentation is forbidden for all simulation temperatures. This allows to significantly enhance realism of the simulated patterns. It also increases the computational efficiency compared with the standard CPM algorithm even at same simulation temperature, thanks to the time spared in not doing unrealistic moves. Moreover, our algorithm restores the detailed balance equation, ensuring that the long-term stage is independent of the chosen acceptance rate and chosen path in the temperature space.

Statistical mechanics of two-dimensional foams: Physical foundations of the model

Abstract.In a recent series of papers, a statistical model that accounts for correlations between topological and geometrical properties of a two-dimensional shuffled foam has been proposed and compared with experimental and numerical data. Here, the various assumptions on which the model is based are exposed and justified: the equiprobability hypothesis of the foam configurations is argued. The range of correlations between bubbles is discussed, and the mean-field approximation that is used in the model is detailed. The two self-consistency equations associated with this mean-field description can be interpreted as the conservation laws of number of sides and bubble curvature, respectively. Finally, the use of a “Grand-Canonical” description, in which the foam constitutes a reservoir of sides and curvature, is justified.Graphical abstract

Gas-liquid adsorption and solubility phenomena as studied by gas chromatography. Comparison of both concurrent effects on two similar nitrile liquid phases

Abstract Chromatographic results on two similar nitrile stationary phases have been developed. Solubility and gas-liquid adsorption have been compared for several aromatic salutes and polar solutes. Aromatic compounds exhibit small differences in their surface activity coefficients between the two liquid phases. Conversely bulk liquid activity coefficients show that solubility is poorer in 1,3,5-tricyanopentane than in 1,2,3-tricyanoethoxypropane.

Correction to ‘Stiffest elastic networks’

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0611.].