Wrinkles, folds and plasticity in granular rafts

We investigate the mechanical response of a compressed monolayer of large and dense particles at a liquid-fluid interface: a granular raft. Upon compression, rafts first wrinkle; then, as the confinement increases, the deformation localizes in a unique fold. This characteristic buckling pattern is usually associated to floating elastic sheets and as a result, particle laden interfaces are often modeled as such. Here, we push this analogy to its limits by comparing the first quantitative measurements of the raft morphology to a theoretical continuous elastic model of the interface. We show that although powerful to describe the wrinkle wavelength, the wrinkle-to-fold transition and the fold shape, this elastic description does not capture the finer details of the experiment. We describe an unpredicted secondary wavelength, a compression discrepancy with the model and a hysteretic behavior during compression cycles, all of which are a signature of the intrinsic discrete and frictional nature of granular rafts. It suggests also that these composite materials exhibit both plastic transition and jamming dynamics.Comment: 10 pages, including Supplementary Information. Submitted to Physical Review Material

The liquid helix

From everyday experience, we all know that a solid edge can deflect a liquid flowing over it significantly, up to the point where the liquid completely sticks to the solid. Although important in pouring, printing and extrusion processes, there is no predictive model of this so-called "teapot effect". By grazing vertical cylinders with inclined capillary liquid jets, we here use the teapot effect to attach the jet to the solid and form a new structure: the liquid helix. Using mass and momentum conservation along the liquid stream, we first quantitatively predict the shape of the helix and then provide a parameter-free inertial-capillary adhesion model for the jet deflection and critical velocity for helix formation.Comment: Accepted in Physical Review Letters, author versio

Utiliser la modélisation pour évaluer l'impact du fonctionnement d'élevages laitiers sur l'économie et la valorisation de l'eau d'irrigation. Cas du Tadla (Maroc)

L'économie et la valorisation de l'eau d'irrigation dépendent des décisions prises par les agriculteurs en matière de choix d'assolement, de modes de conduite des systèmes de production et de stratégies de commercialisation. Si les gestionnaires de périmètre comme les opérateurs aval des filières influencent ces décisions, ils sont souvent démunis face à la diversité des contextes d'action des agriculteurs et à la complexité des réflexions prospectives à mener. Cet article présente une démarche conçue et expérimentée sur le bassin de collecte laitier du périmètre du Tadla au Maroc. Elle combine l'utilisation d'une typologie en 4 types basés sur les stratégies et les pratiques des éleveurs, et d'un outil de simulation confrontant offre et demande alimentaire sur chacun des types. L'utilisation de l'outil est illustrée sur l'exemple des petites exploitations laitières intensives. Différents systèmes fourragers sont comparés et leurs impacts sur la production laitière, la consommation et la valorisation de l'eau d'irrigation sont évalués. Il est ainsi montré que les systèmes combinant maïs ensilage et luzerne sont plus intéressants que les systèmes à base de luzerne sur tous ces plans. Les limites de la démarche touchent à la base de données nécessaire pour valider la typologie sur l'ensemble de la population des éleveurs et pour paramétrer le modèle, aux simplifications apportées à la représentation des processus de gestion et à l'ergonomie de l'application

Review: to be or not to be an identifiable model. Is this a relevant question in animal science modelling?

International audienceWhat is a good (useful) mathematical model in animal science? For models constructed for prediction purposes, the question of model adequacy (usefulness) has been traditionally tackled by statistical analysis applied to observed experimental data relative to model-predicted variables. However, little attention has been paid to analytic tools that exploit the mathematical properties of the model equations. For example, in the context of model calibration, before attempting a numerical estimation of the model parameters, we might want to know if we have any chance of success in estimating a unique best value of the model parameters from available measurements. This question of uniqueness is referred to as structural identifiability; a mathematical property that is defined on the sole basis of the model structure within a hypothetical ideal experiment determined by a setting of model inputs (stimuli) and observable variables (measurements). Structural identifiability analysis applied to dynamic models described by ordinary differential equations (ODE) is a common practice in control engineering and system identification. This analysis demands mathematical technicalities that are beyond the academic background of animal science, which might explain the lack of pervasiveness of identifiability analysis in animal science modelling. To fill this gap, in this paper we address the analysis of structural identifiability from a practitioner perspective by capitalizing on the use of dedicated software tools. Our objectives are (i) to provide a comprehensive explanation of the structural identifiability notion for the community of animal science modelling, (ii) to assess the relevance of identifiability analysis in animal science modelling and (iii) to motivate the community to use identifiability analysis in the modelling practice (when the identifiability question is relevant). We focus our study on ODE models. By using illustrative examples that include published mathematical models describing lactation in cattle, we show how structural identifiability analysis can contribute to advancing mathematical modelling in animal science towards the production of useful models and highly informative experiments. Rather than attempting to impose a systematic identifiability analysis to the modelling community during model developments, we wish to open a window towards the discovery of a powerful tool for model construction and experiment design

Review: Deciphering animal robustness. A synthesis to facilitate its use in livestock breeding and management

peer-reviewedAs the environments in which livestock are reared become more variable, animal robustness becomes an increasingly valuable attribute. Consequently, there is increasing focus on managing and breeding for it. However, robustness is a difficult phenotype to properly characterise because it is a complex trait composed of multiple components, including dynamic elements such as the rates of response to, and recovery from, environmental perturbations. In this review, the following definition of robustness is used: the ability, in the face of environmental constraints, to carry on doing the various things that the animal needs to do to favour its future ability to reproduce. The different elements of this definition are discussed to provide a clearer understanding of the components of robustness. The implications for quantifying robustness are that there is no single measure of robustness but rather that it is the combination of multiple and interacting component mechanisms whose relative value is context dependent. This context encompasses both the prevailing environment and the prevailing selection pressure. One key issue for measuring robustness is to be clear on the use to which the robustness measurements will employed. If the purpose is to identify biomarkers that may be useful for molecular phenotyping or genotyping, the measurements should focus on the physiological mechanisms underlying robustness. However, if the purpose of measuring robustness is to quantify the extent to which animals can adapt to limiting conditions then the measurements should focus on the life functions, the trade-offs between them and the animal’s capacity to increase resource acquisition. The time-related aspect of robustness also has important implications. Single time-point measurements are of limited value because they do not permit measurement of responses to (and recovery from) environmental perturbations. The exception being single measurements of the accumulated consequence of a good (or bad) adaptive capacity, such as productive longevity and lifetime efficiency. In contrast, repeated measurements over time have a high potential for quantification of the animal’s ability to cope with environmental challenges. Thus, we should be able to quantify differences in adaptive capacity from the data that are increasingly becoming available with the deployment of automated monitoring technology on farm. The challenge for future management and breeding will be how to combine various proxy measures to obtain reliable estimates of robustness components in large populations. A key aspect for achieving this is to define phenotypes from consideration of their biological properties and not just from available measures

Curvature Regularization near Contacts with Stretched Elastic Tubes

Bringing a rigid object into contact with a soft elastic tube causes the tube to conform to the surface of the object, resulting in contact lines. The curvature of the tube walls near these contact lines is often large and is typically regularized by the finite bending rigidity of the tube. Here, we show using experiments and a F\"{o}ppl--von K\'{a}rm\'{a}n-like theory that a second mechanism of curvature regularization occurs when the tube is axially stretched. The radius of curvature obtained is unrelated to the bending rigidity of the tube walls, increases with the applied stretching force and decreases with sheet thickness, in contrast with the effects of finite bending rigidity. %Moreover, the axial force decreases the contact area between the tube and the intruding object, potentially reducing the drag necessary to propel the object through the tube. We show that these features are due to an interplay between geometry and mechanics specific to elastic tubes, but one that is absent from both planar sheets and spherical shells

ANGELITO [Material gráfico]

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