MODELING CHAIN PACKING IN COMPLEX PHASES OF SELF-ASSEMBLED BLOCK COPOLYMERS

Block copolymer (BCP) melts undergo microphase seperation and form ordered soft matter crystals with varying domain shapes and symmetries. We study the con- nection between diblock copolymer molecular designs and thermodynamic selection of ordered crystals by modeling features of variable sub-domain geometry filled with individual blocks within non-canonical sphere-like and network phases that together with layered, cylindrical and canonical spherical phases forms “natural forms” of self- assembled amphiphilic soft matter at large. First, we present a model to revise our understanding of optimal Frank-Kasper sphere-like morphologies by advancing the- ory to account for varying domain volumes. We then develop generic approaches to quantify local changes to domain thickness or packing frustration using medial sets and show its application to morphologies with arbitrary domain topologies and sym- metries in both theoretical models and experimental data. We further use medial sets as a proxy for terminal boundaries of blocks within different domains and revise thermodynamic models of BCP assembly in the strong segregation limit. Finally, we use this revised model to study effect of elastic stiffness asymmetry on relaxing packing frustration experienced by BCPs in tubular and matrix domains leading to equilibrium double gyroid network morphology in diblock copolymers

A New CNT-Oriented Shell Theory

A theory of linearly elastic orthotropic shells is presented, with potential application to the continuous modeling of Carbon NanoTubes. Two relevant features are: the selected type of orthotropic response, which should be suitable to capture differences in chirality; the possibility of accounting for thickness changes due to changes in inter-wall separation to be expected in multi-wall CNTs. A simpler version of the theory is also proposed, in which orthotropy is preserved but thickness changes are excluded, intended for possible application to single-wall CNTs. Another feature of both versions of the present theory is boundary-value problems of torsion, axial traction, uniform inner pressure, and rim flexure, can be solved explicitly in closed form. Various directions of ongoing further research are indicated

Unwind: Interactive Fish Straightening

The ScanAllFish project is a large-scale effort to scan all the world's 33,100 known species of fishes. It has already generated thousands of volumetric CT scans of fish species which are available on open access platforms such as the Open Science Framework. To achieve a scanning rate required for a project of this magnitude, many specimens are grouped together into a single tube and scanned all at once. The resulting data contain many fish which are often bent and twisted to fit into the scanner. Our system, Unwind, is a novel interactive visualization and processing tool which extracts, unbends, and untwists volumetric images of fish with minimal user interaction. Our approach enables scientists to interactively unwarp these volumes to remove the undesired torque and bending using a piecewise-linear skeleton extracted by averaging isosurfaces of a harmonic function connecting the head and tail of each fish. The result is a volumetric dataset of a individual, straight fish in a canonical pose defined by the marine biologist expert user. We have developed Unwind in collaboration with a team of marine biologists: Our system has been deployed in their labs, and is presently being used for dataset construction, biomechanical analysis, and the generation of figures for scientific publication

Effect of a rigid toroidal inhomogeneity on the elastic properties of a composite

An analytical solution is obtained for the problem of an infinite elastic medium containing a rigid toroidal inhomogeneity under remotely applied uniform strain. The traction on the torus surface is determined as a function of torus parameters and strain components applied at infinity. The results are utilized to calculate components of the stiffness contribution tensor of the rigid toroidal inhomogeneity that is required for calculation of the overall elastic properties of a material containing multiple toroidal inhomogeneities. The analytical results are verified by comparison with finite element model calculations

Higher-order block-structured hex meshing of tubular structures

Numerical simulations of the cardiovascular system are growing in popularity due to the increasing availability of computational power, and their proven contribution to the understanding of pathodynamics and validation of medical devices with in-silico trials as a potential future breakthrough. Such simulations are performed on volumetric meshes reconstructed from patient-specific imaging data. These meshes are most often unstructured, and result in a brutally large amount of elements, significantly increasing the computational complexity of the simulations, whilst potentially adversely affecting their accuracy. To reduce such complexity, we introduce a new approach for fully automatic generation of higher-order, structured hexahedral meshes of tubular structures, with a focus on healthy blood vessels. The structures are modeled as skeleton-based convolution surfaces. From the same skeleton, the topology is captured by a block-structure, and the geometry by a higher-order surface mesh. Grading may be induced to obtain tailored refinement, thus resolving, e.g., boundary layers. The volumetric meshing is then performed via transfinite mappings. The resulting meshes are of arbitrary order, their elements are of good quality, while the spatial resolution may be as coarse as needed, greatly reducing computing time. Their suitability for practical applications is showcased by a simulation of physiological blood flow modelled by a generalised Newtonian fluid in the human aorta

Collisions of particles in locally AdS spacetimes I. Local description and global examples

We investigate 3-dimensional globally hyperbolic AdS manifolds containing "particles", i.e., cone singularities along a graph $\Gamma$. We impose physically relevant conditions on the cone singularities, e.g. positivity of mass (angle less than $2\pi$ on time-like singular segments). We construct examples of such manifolds, describe the cone singularities that can arise and the way they can interact (the local geometry near the vertices of $\Gamma$). We then adapt to this setting some notions like global hyperbolicity which are natural for Lorentz manifolds, and construct some examples of globally hyperbolic AdS manifolds with interacting particles.Comment: This is a rewritten version of the first part of arxiv:0905.1823. That preprint was too long and contained two types of results, so we sliced it in two. This is the first part. Some sections have been completely rewritten so as to be more readable, at the cost of slightly less general statements. Others parts have been notably improved to increase readabilit

Split noncommutativity and compactified brane solutions in matrix models

Solutions of the undeformed IKKT matrix model with structure R^{3,1} x K are presented, where the noncommutativity relates the compact with the non-compact space. The extra dimensions are stabilized by angular momentum, and the scales of K are generic moduli of the solutions. Explicit solutions are given for K= T^2, K= T^4, K = S^2 x T^2 and K = S^2 x S^2. Infinite towers of Kaluza-Klein modes may arise in some directions, along with an effective UV cutoff on the non-compact space. Deformations of these solutions carry NC gauge theory coupled to (emergent) gravity. Analogous solutions of the BFSS model are also given.Comment: 24 pages. V2, V3: typos fixed. V4: minor correction