Events EMMC20Conference SymposiaS5: Mechanics of active materials: from theory to Lab

S5: Mechanics of active materials: from theory to Lab

 

 Paola Nardinocchi, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, email

 Thomas Wallmersperger, TU Dresden, Germany, email

 Daniel Garcia-Gonzalez, University Carlos III Madrid, Spain, email

 

Symposium description

The symposium aims to bridge the gap between theoretical advancements and practical laboratory applications in the field of active materials. This group of materials comprises soft and hard active materials sensitive to stimuli such as magnetic fields, electric fields, etc.

  Of special relevance are soft active materials that have the potential to undergo large deformations when active fields are applied, making them ideal candidates for various innovative technical applications such as smart sensing devices, large-displacement actuators, and synthetic soft tissues for flexible electronics and soft robotics. Over the past years, we have been observing a revolution in the research and development of active materials that respond to diverse external stimuli, beyond mechanical forces, or internal stimuli, as is the case of active gels, which respond to molecular motors embedded in the polymer network. From understanding the fundamental principles that govern their behavior to exploring innovative experimental techniques and real-world implementations, we will delve into the multifaceted aspects of these remarkable substances. Fuelled by the aforementioned advances, novel multifunctional structures are designed in the form of thin and slender components with the potential to undergo structural or material instabilities in certain loading ranges. The resulting phenomena could, for example, be harnessed to arrive at very large deformations under rather small applied fields, making materials ready for even more efficient actuation and sensing purposes. The goal of this symposium is to bring together researchers from experiment, modelling, and simulation to discuss recent advancements and new directions in the field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Active and responsive gels
• Constitutive modelling
• Electro- magneto-, photo-active polymers
• Experimental testing and validation
• Liquid crystal elastomers and gels
• Piezoelectric and electrostrictive materials
• Material and structural instabilities
• Material design of soft solids
• Soft robotics applications
• Computational models/Numerical simulations of the behaviour of active materials and smart structures