Load transmission along flexible filaments
Orateur : Paul Grandgeorge / Post-doc EPFL
Abstract : Contact regions between touching filaments dictate the mechanics of flexible filamentary networks, such as knits, knots, and weaves. The intricate topology and the nontrivial mechanical interactions in such networks of crossing fibers challenge the development of predictive models to understand and enhance their performance. In order to enable and back-up theoretical models, we distill this class of problems down to its essence by turning to precision model experiments. More precisely, we combine mechanical testing and X-ray micro-computed tomography with numerical computations (Finite Element Method) to determine the load transmission along flexible filaments in contact with rigid or deformable cylinders. In this talk, I will focus on the tension drop in purely elastic (vinyl-polysiloxane) and elasto-plastic (polyamide) rods wound around cylinders in a capstan-like configuration in the absence or in the presence of friction. To predict the tension loss along filaments, I will build on the constitutive behavior of the materials composing the rods to derive a set of one-dimensional equations governing the rod equilibrium shape under prescribed boundary conditions. We hope that our modeling efforts, along with our experimental observations will serve as a building block for future mechanical homogenization schemes involving flexible filamentary networks.
Date et lieu : le vendredi 9 avril à 11h00 (visio)
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