Thin films: Folded in hierarchy

Capillary-Induced Wrinkle-to-Fold Transitions Under Biaxial Compression

Wrinkles in bilayer systems comprising a thin stiff film attached to a soft substrate can globally transition into folds under sufficiently large compression. This phenomenon has been extensively studied primarily using uniaxially compressed systems. However, inducing the wrinkle-to-fold transition at designated locations on a wrinkled surface under small biaxial compression remains a challenge. In this study, we describe a method for causing randomly oriented wrinkles to locally evolve into folds using water droplets. When a droplet comes into contact with the random wrinkles that have spontaneously formed upon film deposition owing to residual biaxial compressive strains, radially extended folds instantaneously emerge at the droplet boundary. Upon water evaporation, the wrinkles beneath the droplet also undergo a transition, leaving a fold network. By contrast, the surface regions distant from where the droplet was placed retain the wrinkle morphology. The folded areas can be controlled by adjusting the volume and number of droplets. These transitions are enabled by the capillary forces of water that help to increase the local compressive strains. This capillary-induced wrinkle-to-fold transition provides a simple mechanism to develop folds in selected locations on wrinkled surfaces of film-substrate systems subject to small biaxial compression, which is unachievable with conventional approaches.

Buckling patterns in biaxially pre-stretched bilayer shells: wrinkles, creases, folds and fracture-like ridges

We introduce a new experimental system to study the effects of pre-stretch on the buckling patterns that emerge from the biaxial compression of elastomeric bilayer shells. Upon fabrication of the samples, releasing the pre-stretch in the substrate through deflation places the outer film in a state of biaxial compression and yields a variety of buckling patterns. We systematically explore the parameter space by varying the pre-stretch of the substrate and the ratio between the stiffness of the substrate and film. The phase diagram of the system exhibits a variety of buckling patterns: from the classic periodic wrinkle to creases, folds, and high aspect ratio ridges. Our system is capable of readily transitioning between these buckling patterns, a first for biaxial systems. We focus on the wrinkle to ridge transition. In the latter, we find that pre-stretch plays an essential role and that the ridge geometry (width, height) remains nearly constant throughout their formation process. For the localized ridged patterns, we find that the propagation of the ridge tip depends strongly on both strain and stiffness ratio, in a way that is akin to hierarchical fracture.

On the interaction of uni-directional and bi-directional buckling of a plate supported by an elastic foundation

A thin flat rectangular plate supported on its edges and subjected to in-plane loading exhibits stable post-buckling behaviour. However, the introduction of a nonlinear (softening) elastic foundation may cause the response to become unstable. Here, the post-buckling of such a structure is investigated and several important phenomena are identified, including the transition of patterns from stripes to spots and back again. The interaction between these forms is of importance for understanding the possible post-buckling behaviours of this structural system. In addition, both periodic and some localized responses are found to exist as the dimensions of the plate are increased and this becomes relevant when the characteristic wavelengths of the buckle pattern are small compared with the size of the plate. Potential applications of the model range from macroscopic industrial manufacturing of structural elements to the understanding of micro- and nanoscale deformations in materials.

Electrospinning deposition of hydrogel fibers used as scaffold for biomembranes. Thermal stability of DPPC corroborated by ellipsometry

DPPC bilayers were deposited over thin hydrogel scaffolds using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique (with DPPC thickness ∼ 6.2 nm). Wrinkled hydrogels films were used to maintain a moist environment in order to enhance DPPC bilayer stability. Polymer mixtures were prepared using HEMA (as a base monomer) and DEGDMA, PEGDA575, PEGDA700 or AAm (as crosslinking agents); a thermal initiator was added to obtain a final pre-hydrogel (oligomer) with an adequate viscosity for thin film formation. This mixture was deposited as wrinkled film/fibers over hydrophilic silicon wafers using an electrospinning technique. Later, these samples were exposed to UV light to trigger photopolymerization, generating crosslinking bonds between hydrogel chains; this process also generated remnant surface stresses in the films that favored wrinkle formation. In the cases where DEGDMA and AAm were used as crosslinking agents, HEMA was added in higher amounts. The resultant polymer film surface showed homogenous layering with some small isolated clusters. If PEGDA575/700 was used as the crosslinking agent, we observed the formation of polymer wrinkled thin films, composed by main and secondary chains (with different dimensions). Moreover, water absorption and release was found to be mediated through surface morphology, ordering and film thickness. The thermal behavior of biomembranes was examined using ellipsometry techniques under controlled heating cycles, allowing phases and phase transitions to be detected through slight thickness variations with respect to temperature. Atomic force microscopy was used to determinate surface roughness changes according to temperature variation, temperature was varied sufficiently for the detection and recording of DPPC phase limits. Contact angle measurements corroborated and quantified system wettability, supporting the theory that wrinkled hydrogel films act to enhance DPPC bilayer stability during thermal cycles.

Thin and ordered hydrogel films deposited through electrospinning technique; a simple and efficient support for organic bilayers

Thermal behavior of Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers deposited over hydrogel fibers was examined. Thus, membrane stability, water absorption-release, phase transitions and phase transition temperatures were studied through different methods during heating cycles. Hydrogel films were realized using an oligomer mixture (HEMA-PEGDA575/photo-initiator) with adequate viscosity. Then, the fibers were deposited over silicon wafers (hydrophilic substrate) through electrospinning technique using four different voltages: 15, 20, 25 and 30 kV. The films were then exposed to UV light, favoring polymer chain crosslinking and interactions between hydrogel and substrate. For samples deposited at 20 and 25 kV, hierarchical wrinkle folds were observed at surface level, their arrangement distribution depends directly on thickness and associated point defects. DPPC bilayers were then placed over hydrogel scaffold using Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis were used to investigate sample surface, micrographies show homogeneous layer formation with chain polymer order/disorder related to applied voltage during hydrogel deposition process, among other parameters. According to the results obtained, it is possible to conclude that the oligomer deposited at 20 kV produce thin homogenous films (~40 nm) with enhanced ability to absorb water and release it in a controlled way during heating cycles. These scaffold properties confer to DPPC membrane thermal stability, which allow an easy detection of phase(s) and phase transitions. Thermal behavior was also studied via Atomic Force Microscopy (roughness analysis). Contact angle measurements corroborate system wettability, supporting the theory that hydrogel thin films act as DPPC membrane enhancers for thermal stability against external stimuli.

Surface patterns in drying films of silica colloidal dispersions

We report an experimental study on the drying of silica colloidal dispersions. Here we focus on surface instability occurring in a drying paste phase before crack formation which affects the final film quality. Observations at macroscopic and microscopic scales reveal the occurrence of instability, and the morphology of the film surface. Furthermore, we show that the addition of adsorbing polymers on silica particles can be used to suppress the instability under particular conditions of molecular weight and concentration. We relate this suppression to the increase of the paste elastic modulus.

Statistics of energy dissipation and stress relaxation in a crumpling network of randomly folded aluminum foils

We study stress relaxation in hand folded aluminum foils subjected to the uniaxial compression force F(λ). We found that once the compression ratio is fixed (λ=const) the compression force decreases in time as F∝F_{0}P(t), where P(t) is the survival probability time distribution belonging to the domain of attraction of max-stable distribution of the Fréchet type. This finding provides a general physical picture of energy dissipation in the crumpling network of a crushed elastoplastic foil. The difference between energy dissipation statistics in crushed viscoelastic papers and elastoplastic foils is outlined. Specifically, we argue that the dissipation of elastic energy in crushed aluminum foils is ruled by a multiplicative Poisson process governed by the maximum waiting time distribution. The mapping of this process into the problem of transient random walk on a fractal crumpling network is suggested.

Fractal features of a crumpling network in randomly folded thin matter and mechanics of sheet crushing

We study the static and dynamic properties of networks of crumpled creases formed in hand crushed sheets of paper. The fractal dimensionalities of crumpling networks in the unfolded (flat) and folded configurations are determined. Some other noteworthy features of crumpling networks are established. The physical implications of these findings are discussed. Specifically, we state that self-avoiding interactions introduce a characteristic length scale of sheet crumpling. A framework to model the crumpling phenomena is suggested. Mechanics of sheet crushing under external confinement is developed. The effect of compaction geometry on the crushing mechanics is revealed.