Organizers:
- Asaf Dana, Texas A&M University
- Nitesh Arora, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Taylor H. Ware, Texas A&M University
- Saad Bhamla, Georgia Institute of Technology
Description:
Entanglement of high aspect ratio (slender) elements can be found in synthetic, natural, and living systems from yarns to biological aggregates of worms. Such structures result in complex topological morphologies that can store and dissipate energy as well as provide enhanced structural characteristics like increased toughness. The incorporation of active materials has the potential to impart unique properties, such as shape-change, and tunable mechanical response. It has emerged as a significant field in the mechanics of soft matter due to its potential impact on smart textiles, robotics, biomedical applications, and metamaterial design. The development of entangled materials requires advancements in design, mechanics, and manufacturing techniques. With this focus, the symposium aims to bring together researchers from diverse fields to share emerging and recent advances in the design and fabrication of entangled structures and materials, the mechanics and dynamics of their response to external forces and fields, and their novel applications across a wide range of engineering domains.
Topics of interest:
- Living, natural and bio-inspired entangled systems.
- Autonomous linking of fibers and filaments.
- Collective action of stimuli-responsive filaments.
- Tangles and knots in non-woven textiles.
- Nanocrystal assemblies and supramolecular networks.
- Fibrous scaffold construction for tissue engineering.