Organizers:
- Qihan Liu, University of Pittsburgh
- Ruobing Bai, Northeastern University
- Berkin Dortdivanlioglu, University of Texas at Austin
Description:
This mini-symposium highlights the mechanics of soft interfaces, which involve the interaction of a soft material with another soft material, hard material, or fluid. Unlike hard interfaces, soft interfaces exhibit unique behaviors due to nonlinear deformations, pronounced capillary effects, rapid structural relaxation, polymer-solvent phase separation, and stimuli-responsive behavior (electro-, chemo-mechanical, etc.). These phenomena give rise to an unparalleled richness in mechanics, offering vast opportunities for engineering advanced applications. The goal of this mini-symposium is to bring together researchers from diverse disciplines to share and discuss advances in computational, theoretical, and experimental approaches, spanning molecular to macroscopic scales. Both fundamental and application-driven studies are warmly encouraged.
Topics of interest:
- Contact mechanics, e.g. adhesion, lubrication, friction
- Size-dependent capillary effects, e.g. elastocapillary effect
- Surface instabilities, e.g. wrinkle and crease
- Energy dissipation near interfacial cracks
- Cavitation and nucleation
- Textured surface surfaces
- Stimuli-responsive interfacial properties
- Mass and thermal transport across or near interfaces
Other relevant topics are also welcomed