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Mechanics of Soft Active Materials

Buckling instability has been studied extensively for the past few decades as one of the most critical structural failure modes. This classical theme has recently gained new attention as a useful method for the creation of rich patterns and rapid actuation, because buckling is often accompanied by large deformation and radical shape change of the structure, as exemplified in many natural organisms such as wavy edges of plant leaves and insect-trapping motion of sensitive plants. Inspired by these lessons from nature, mechanical instabilities of soft active materials is exploited to reversibly achieve dramatic geometrical change towards advanced functionality. As PµSL offers unmatched capabilities to rapidly build 3D structures of soft materials, various modes of mechanical instabilities such as wrinkles and creases can be readily realized and studied in broad range of 3D geometries and constraints. Chemo-mechanical properties of soft active materials will also be investigated for possible route to use of diverse environmental conditions to trigger mechanical instability. Rapid release of elastic energy at the onset of mechanical instability can be utilized to obtain maximum possible power density from soft materials. Also, rigorous study on the mass transport of liquid coupled with large deformation of gels is carried out for predictive understanding of transient material behavior. Various new experimental techniques including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are employed to quantitatively characterize complex dynamic phenomena of soft active materials. This research thrust will provide new insight to morphogenesis of many biological tissues and organisms, as well as novel handles for transformable devices for tunable functionalities and energy conversion.
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