Patrick Onck

Size effects in ductile cellular solids. Part II: experimental results

There is increasing interest in the use of metallic foams in a variety of applications, including lightweight structural sandwich panels and energy absorption devices. In such applications, the mechanical response of the foams is of critical importance. In this study, we have investigated the effect of specimen size (relative to the cell size) on selected mechanical properties of aluminum foams. Models, described in the companion paper, provide a physical basis for understanding size effects in metallic foams. The models give a good description of size effects in metallic foams.

Size effects in ductile cellular solids. Part I: modeling

In the mechanical testing of metallic foams, an important issue is the effect of the specimen size, relative to the cell size, on the measured properties. Here we analyze size effects for the modulus and strength of regular, hexagonal honeycombs under uniaxial and shear loadings. Size effects for indentation of a honeycomb are evaluated using finite element analysis. Finally, the results for honeycombs are extrapolated to foams. The results are compared with data for metallic foams in the following, companion paper.

Alternative Explanation of Stiffening in Cross-Linked Semiflexible Networks

Strain stiffening of filamentous protein networks is explored by means of a finite strain analysis of a two-dimensional network model of cross-linked semiflexible filaments. The results show that stiffening is caused by nonaffine network rearrangements that govern a transition from a bending-dominated response at small strains to a stretching-dominated response at large strains. Filament undulations, which are key in the existing explanation of stiffening, merely postpone the transition.

Mechanosensitive membrane channels in action

The tension-driven gating process of MscL from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Tb-MscL, has been addressed at near-atomic detail using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. To perform the simulations, a novel coarse-grained peptide model based on a thermodynamic parameterization of the amino-acid side chains has been applied. Both the wild-type Tb-MscL and its gain-of-function mutant V21D embedded in a solvated lipid bilayer have been studied. To mimic hypoosmotic shock conditions, simulations were performed at increasing levels of membrane tension approaching the rupture threshold of the lipid bilayer. Both the wild-type and the mutant channel are found to undergo significant conformational changes in accordance with an irislike expansion mechanism, reaching a conducting state on a microsecond timescale. The most pronounced expansion of the pore has been observed for the V21D mutant, which is consistent with the experimentally shown gain-of-function phenotype of the V21D mutant.

Magnetically-actuated artificial cilia for microfluidic propulsion

In this paper we quantitatively analyse the performance of magnetically-driven artificial cilia for lab-on-a-chip applications. The artificial cilia are fabricated using thin polymer films with embedded magnetic nano-particles and their deformation is studied under different external magnetic fields and flows. A coupled magneto-mechanical solid-fluid model that accurately captures the interaction between the magnetic field, cilia and fluid is used to simulate the cilia motion. The elastic and magnetic properties of the cilia are obtained by fitting the results of the computational model to the experimental data. The performance of the artificial cilia with a non-uniform cross-section is characterised using the numerical model for two channel configurations that are of practical importance: an open-loop and a closed-loop channel. We predict that the flow and pressure head generated by the artificial cilia can be as high as 18 microlitres per minute and 3 mm of water, respectively. We also study the effect of metachronal waves on the flow generated and show that the fluid propelled increases drastically compared to synchronously beating cilia, and is unidirectional. This increase is significant even when the phase difference between adjacent cilia is small. The obtained results provide guidelines for the optimal design of magnetically-driven artificial cilia for microfluidic propulsion.

Enhanced Strain in Functional Nanoporous Gold with a Dual Microscopic Length Scale Structure

We have synthesized nanoporous Au with a dual microscopic length scale by exploiting the crystal structure of the alloy precursor. The synthesized mesoscopic material is characterized by stacked Au layers of submicrometer thickness. In addition, each layer displays nanoporosity through the entire bulk. It is shown that the thickness of these layers can be tailored via the grain size of the alloy precursor. The two-length-scale structure enhances the functional properties of nanoporous gold, leading to charge-induced strains of amplitude up to 6%, which are roughly 2 orders of magnitude larger than in nanoporous Au with the standard one-length-scale porous morphology. A model is presented to describe these phenomena.

Supramolecular Route to Well-Ordered Metal Nanofoams

Metal nanofoams with a porosity above 50% v/v have recently attracted great interest in materials science due to their interesting properties. We demonstrate a new straightforward route to prepare such nanofoams using diblock copolymer-based PS-block-P4VP(PDP) supramolecules that self-assemble into a bicontinuous gyroid morphology, consisting of PS network channels in a P4VP(PDP) matrix. After dissolving the PDP, the P4VP collapses onto the PS struts and a free-standing bicontinuous gyroid template of 50-100 μm thickness and interconnected, uniformly sized pores is formed. The hydrophilic P4VP corona facilitates the penetration of water-based plating reagents into the porous template and enables a successful metal deposition. After plating, the polymer is simply degraded by heating, resulting in a well-ordered inverse gyroid nickel foam. Essential to this approach is the removal of only one part of the matrix (i.e., PDP). Therefore, the template accounts for 50% v/v or more. The porosity characteristics (amount, size of pores) can be tuned by selecting the appropriate copolymer and by adjusting the amount of PDP.

Growth of an initially sharp crack by grain boundary cavitation

Abstract A new computational model is presented to analyze intergranular creep crack growth in a polycrystalline aggregate in a discrete manner and based directly on the underlying physical micromechanisms. A crack tip process zone is introduced in which grains and their grain boundaries are represented discretely, while the surrounding undamaged material is described as a continuum. Special-purpose finite elements are used to represent individual grains and grain boundary facets. The constitutive description of the grain boundary elements accounts for the relevant physical fracture mechanisms, i.e. viscous grain boundary sliding, the nucleation of grain boundary cavities, their growth by grain boundary diffusion and local creep, until coalescence of cavities leads to microcracks. Discrete propagation of the main crack occurs by linking up of neighbouring facet microcracks. Assuming small-scale damage conditions, the model is used to simulate the initial stages of growth of an initially sharp crack under C∗ controlled, mode I loading conditions. Material parameters are varied so as to lead to either ductile or brittle fracture, thus elucidating creep constrained cavitation near cracks. The role of the stress state dependence of cavity nucleation on the crack growth direction is emphasized.

Cosserat modeling of cellular solids

Cellular solids inherit their macroscopic mechanical properties directly from the cellular microstructure. However, the characteristic material length scale is often not small compared to macroscopic dimensions, which limits the applicability of classical continuum- type constitutive models. Cosserat theory, however, offers a continuum framework that naturally features a length scale related to rotation gradients. In this paper a homogenization procedure is proposed that enables the derivation of macroscopic Cosserat constitutive equations based on the underlying microstructural morphology and material behavior. To cite this article: P.R. Onck, C. R. Mecanique 330 (2002) 717-722.  2002 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS continuum mechanics / homogenization / micromechanics / Cosserat theory / cellular solids / foams / bone / generalized continua

Metallic Muscles at Work: High Rate Actuation in Nanoporous Gold/Polyaniline Composites

Metallic muscles made of nanoporous metals suffer from serious drawbacks caused by the usage of an aqueous electrolyte for actuation. An aqueous electrolyte prohibits metallic muscles from operating in dry environments and hampers a high actuation rate due to the low ionic conductivity of electrolytes. In addition, redox reactions involved in electrochemical actuation severely coarsen the ligaments of nanoporous metals, leading to a substantial loss in performance of the actuator. Here we present an electrolyte-free approach to put metallic muscles to work via a metal/polymer interface. A nanocoating of polyaniline doped with sulfuric acid was grown onto the ligaments of nanoporous gold. Dopant sulfate anions coadsorbed into the polymer coating matrix were exploited to tune the nanoporous metal surface stress and subsequently generate macroscopic dimensional changes in the metal. Strain rates achieved in the single-component nanoporous metal/polymer composite actuator are 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the standard three-component nanoporous metal/electrolyte hybrid actuator.