Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Stretching Micropatterned Cells on a PDMS Membrane
Published on: January 22, 2014
Pattern transformation triggered by deformation
T Mullin1, S Deschanel, K Bertoldi
1Manchester Centre for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK. tom.mullin@manchester.ac.uk
Abstract:
Periodic elastomeric cellular solids are subjected to uniaxial compression and novel transformations of the patterned structures are found upon reaching a critical value of applied load. The results of a numerical investigation reveal that the pattern switch is triggered by a reversible elastic instability. Excellent quantitative agreement between numerical and experimental results is found and the transformations are found to be remarkably uniform across the samples. It is proposed that the mechanism will also operate at much smaller scales opening the possibility for imprinting complex patterns at the nanoscale or switching photonic and phononic crystals in a controlled way.
Related Concept Videos
Plastic Deformations
Plastic Deformations
Deformation of Member under Multiple Loadings
In the case of a member with a variable cross-section, the strain is not constant but depends on the position. The deformation of an...
Temperature Dependent Deformation
Transformation of Plane Strain
Under plane strain conditions, typical for members where one dimension significantly exceeds the others, deformations and resultant strains are...
Deformations in a Transverse Cross Section
As the material stretches, it expands or contracts in orthogonal directions to the load. This phenomenon varies...

