Research

Pseudomomentum: origins and consequences

harmeet1987

H. Singh and J. A. Hanna

The balance of pseudomomentum is discussed and applied to simple elasticity, ideal fluids, and the mechanics of inextensible rods and sheets. A general framework is presented in which the simultaneous variation of an action with respect to position, time, and material labels yields bulk balance laws and jump conditions for momentum, energy, and pseudomomentum. The example of simple elasticity of space-filling solids is treated at length. The pseudomomentum balance in ideal fluids is shown to imply conservation of vorticity, circulation, and helicity, and a mathematical similarity is noted between the evaluation of circulation along a material loop and the J-integral of fracture mechanics. Integration of the pseudomomentum balance, making use of a prescription for singular sources derived by analogy with the continuous form of the balance, directly provides the propulsive force driving passive reconfiguration or locomotion of confined, inhomogeneous elastic rods. The conserved angular momentum and pseudomomentum are identified in the classification of conical sheets with rotational inertia or bending energy.

sleevearXiv and journal

 

Impact-induced acceleration by obstacles

harmeet1987

N. Corbin, J. A. Hanna, W. Royston, H. Singh, and R. Warner

We explore a surprising phenomenon in which an obstruction accelerates, rather than decelerates, a moving flexible object. It has been claimed that the right kind of discrete chain falling onto a table falls faster than a free-falling body. We confirm and quantify this effect, reveal its complicated dependence on angle of incidence, and identify multiple operative mechanisms. Prior theories for direct impact onto flat surfaces, which involve a single constitutive parameter, match our data well if we account for a characteristic delay length that must impinge before the onset of excess acceleration. Our measurements provide a robust determination of this parameter.

supplementary videos and data fitting plots
arXiv, journal, and perspective

Partial constraint singularities in elastic rods

harmeet1987

J. A. Hanna, H. Singh, and E. G. Virga

We present a unified classical treatment of partially constrained elastic rods. Partial constraints often entail singularities in both shapes and reactions. Our approach encompasses both sleeve and adhesion problems, and provides simple and unambiguous derivations of counterintuitive results in the literature. Relationships between reaction forces and moments, geometry, and adhesion energies follow from the balance of energy during quasistatic motion. We also relate our approach to the configurational balance of material momentum and the concept of a driving traction. The theory is generalizable and can be applied to a wide array of contact, adhesion, gripping, and locomotion problems.

elastica_setup

arXiv and journal

On the planar elastica, stress, and material stress

harmeet1987

H. Singh and J. A. Hanna

We revisit the classical problem of the planar Euler elastica with applied forces and moments, and present a classification of the shapes in terms of tangentially conserved quantities associated with spatial and material symmetries. We compare commonly used director, variational, and dynamical systems representations, and present several illustrative physical examples. We remark that an approach that employs only the shape equation for the tangential angle obscures physical information about the tension in the body.

fixed_contour

arXiv and journal

Pick-up and impact of flexible bodies

harmeet1987

H. Singh and J. A. Hanna

Picking up, laying down, colliding, rolling, and peeling are partial-contact interactions involving moving discontinuities. We examine the balances of momentum and energy across a moving discontinuity in a string, with allowance for injection or dissipation by singular supplies. We split the energy dissipation according to its invariance properties, discuss analogies with systems of particles and connections with the literature on shocks and phase transition fronts in various bodies, and derive a compatibility relation between supplies of momentum and translation-invariant energy. For a moving contact discontinuity between a string and a smooth rigid plane in the presence of gravity, we find a surprising asymmetry between the processes of picking up and laying down, such that steady-state kinks in geometry and associated jumps in tension are not admissible during pick-up. This prediction is consistent with experimental observations.

Bubble

arXiv and journal