Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 12, 2026
11:38
Combining Microfluidics and Microrheology to Determine Rheological Properties of Soft Matter during Repeated Phase Transitions
Published on: April 19, 2018
8.6K
Structural transitions and hysteresis in clump- and stripe-forming systems under dynamic compression
Danielle McDermott1, Cynthia J Olson Reichhardt2, Charles Reichhardt2
1Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA. cjrx@lanl.gov and Department of Physics, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933, USA. mcdermod@wabash.edu.
Soft Matter
|November 12, 2016
Summary
Numerical simulations reveal how particle systems transition through phases like clumps, stripes, and voids under compression. These transitions involve elastic motion and avalanche-like bursts, with distinct behaviors upon decompression.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Computational Physics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Understanding particle systems with competing interactions is crucial for materials design.
- Phase transitions in confined systems exhibit complex dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the dynamical evolution and phase transitions of 2D particles under compression.
- To characterize the nature of plastic rearrangements and their impact on structural changes.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulations of particles with long-range repulsion and short-range attraction.
- Utilizing a time-dependent quasi-one dimensional trough potential for controlled compression.
- Analyzing potential energy, coordination, density, and velocity distributions.
Main Results:
- Observed structural phase transitions from clump lattice to stripes, voids, and uniform states.
- Identified avalanche-like bursts and plastic rearrangements during compression.
- Found power-law scaling in velocity distributions during row reduction transitions at high confinements.
Conclusions:
- Compression induces complex dynamics including elastic motion and plastic events.
- Hysteresis is observed upon decompression, with distinct phase morphologies.
- The study provides insights into the mechanisms driving phase transitions in confined particle systems.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:21Plastic Behavior
678
A material's elastic behavior is characterized by the disappearance of stress once the load is removed, allowing the material to return to its original state. However, when stress surpasses the yield point, yielding commences, marking the onset of plastic deformation or permanent set. This change from elastic to plastic behavior is influenced by the peak stress value and the duration before the load is removed. An intriguing observation occurs when a specimen is loaded, unloaded, and...
678
01:24Stress-Strain Diagram - Ductile Materials
2.4K
The stress-strain relationship in ductile materials such as structural steel or aluminium is intricate and progresses through several stages. When a specimen is loaded, it initially exhibits a linear length increase, depicted by a steep straight line on the stress-strain diagram. It indicates the material is elastically deforming and will return to its original shape once unloaded. However, when a critical stress value is reached, plastic deformation begins. This stage sees substantial...
2.4K
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
20.7K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
20.7K
01:18Residual Stresses in Bending
634
In the study of elastoplastic members subjected to bending moments, understanding the loading and unloading phases is crucial for assessing material behavior and structural integrity. During the loading phase, as the bending moment increases, the material initially responds elastically, adhering to Hooke's Law, where stress is directly proportional to strain. When the load exceeds the yield strength, plastic deformation occurs, resulting in permanent strain and deformation that remains even...
634
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
15.5K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
15.5K
01:20Elastic Strain Energy for Shearing Stresses
579
As discussed in previous lessons, strain energy in a material is the energy stored when it is elastically deformed, a concept crucial in materials science and mechanical engineering. This energy results from the internal work done against the cohesive forces within the material. When a material undergoes shearing stress and corresponding shearing strain, the strain energy density, which is the energy stored per unit volume, is calculated. Within the elastic limit, where the stress is...
579