Stress and Fold Localization in Thin Elastic Membranes

DOI Web Site 11 Citations
  • Luka Pocivavsek
    Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute (JFI), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
  • Robert Dellsy
    Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute (JFI), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
  • Andrew Kern
    Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute (JFI), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
  • Sebastián Johnson
    Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute (JFI), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
  • Binhua Lin
    Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute (JFI), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
  • Ka Yee C. Lee
    Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute (JFI), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
  • Enrique Cerda
    Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute (JFI), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

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Description

<jats:p>Thin elastic membranes supported on a much softer elastic solid or a fluid deviate from their flat geometries upon compression. We demonstrate that periodic wrinkling is only one possible solution for such strained membranes. Folds, which involve highly localized curvature, appear whenever the membrane is compressed beyond a third of its initial wrinkle wavelength. Eventually the surface transforms into a symmetry-broken state with flat regions of membrane coexisting with locally folded points, reminiscent of a crumpled, unsupported membrane. We provide general scaling laws for the wrinkled and folded states and proved the transition with numerical and experimental supported membranes. Our work provides insight into the interfacial stability of such diverse systems as biological membranes such as lung surfactant and nanoparticle thin films.</jats:p>

Journal

  • Science

    Science 320 (5878), 912-916, 2008-05-16

    American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

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