Curvature-Controlled Defect Localization in Elastic Surface Crystals
We investigate the influence of curvature and topology on crystalline dimpled patterns on the surface of generic elastic bilayers. Our numerical analysis predicts that the total number of defects created by adiabatic compression exhibits universal quadratic scaling for spherical, ellipsoidal, and to...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
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Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
American Physical Society
2016
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101685 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3984-828X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8569-5400 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9093-0193 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8865-2369 |
Summary: | We investigate the influence of curvature and topology on crystalline dimpled patterns on the surface of generic elastic bilayers. Our numerical analysis predicts that the total number of defects created by adiabatic compression exhibits universal quadratic scaling for spherical, ellipsoidal, and toroidal surfaces over a wide range of system sizes. However, both the localization of individual defects and the orientation of defect chains depend strongly on the local Gaussian curvature and its gradients across a surface. Our results imply that curvature and topology can be utilized to pattern defects in elastic materials, thus promising improved control over hierarchical bending, buckling, or folding processes. Generally, this study suggests that bilayer systems provide an inexpensive yet valuable experimental test bed for exploring the effects of geometrically induced forces on assemblies of topological charges. |
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