Enforcing shaping of thin gel sheets by anisotropic swelling

Publication date: Available online 7 October 2019Source: Mechanics of MaterialsAuthor(s): Daniele Battista, Michele Curatolo, Paola NardinocchiAbstractThis paper investigates swelling-induced shaping in bilayer thin plates. Sphere-like and nearly developable shapes are realized and the ability to control a specific shaping, shifting from one shape to another, under anisotropic swelling is investigated. It is shown that reinforcing fibers can be crucial in controlling shaping under swelling and dramatically affect the characteristics of the final shapes.
Source: Mechanics of Materials - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research