Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026
10:57
Fast and Sensitive Colloidal Coomassie G-250 Staining for Proteins in Polyacrylamide Gels
Published on: August 3, 2009
41.9K
Strand Plasticity Governs Fatigue in Colloidal Gels
Jan Maarten van Doorn1, Joanne E Verweij1, Joris Sprakel1
1Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Physical Review Letters
|June 5, 2018
Summary
Microscopic plasticity drives fatigue in soft solids. Irreversible strand stretching causes network softening and strain hardening, revealing new insights into material failure.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Soft Matter Physics
- Rheology
Background:
- Material fatigue, driven by repeated loading, causes catastrophic failure.
- The microscopic origins of fatigue in soft solids are not well understood.
- Colloidal gels serve as model systems for inhomogeneous soft solids.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the microscopic mechanisms of fatigue in colloidal gels.
- To elucidate the relationship between mechanical loading and microstructural changes.
- To develop a new understanding of fatigue in soft thermal solids.
Main Methods:
- Combined experimental techniques with computer simulations.
- Applied repeated mechanical loading to colloidal gel samples.
- Analyzed microstructural evolution and mechanical response at various deformation scales.
Main Results:
- Identified irreversible strand stretching as a key mechanism under mechanical load.
- Observed network softening at small strains due to induced slack.
- Documented strain hardening at larger deformations.
- Demonstrated that microscopic plasticity governs macroscopic fatigue behavior.
Conclusions:
- Microscopic plasticity is the primary driver of fatigue in soft solids.
- Fatigue in soft thermal solids requires new theoretical frameworks incorporating local plasticity.
- This study provides a novel perspective on soft gel mechanics and failure.
Related Concept Videos
03:22Colloids
21.2K
Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...
21.2K
01:21Fatigue
856
Fatigue occurs when materials rupture under repeated or fluctuating loads, even at stress levels far below their static breaking strength. It typically results in brittle failure, even for ductile materials. It is a critical consideration in designing machines and structural components subjected to repetitive or varying loads. The nature of these loadings can range from fluctuating loads like unbalanced pump impellers causing vibrations to repeatedly bending a thin steel rod wire back and forth...
856
01:59Lagging Strand Synthesis
61.4K
During replication, the complementary strands in double-stranded DNA are synthesized at different rates. Replication first begins on the leading strand. Replication starts later, occurs more slowly, and proceeds discontinuously on the lagging strand.
There are several major differences between synthesis of the leading strand and synthesis of the lagging strand. 1) Leading strand synthesis happens in the direction of replication fork opening, whereas lagging strand synthesis happens in the...
There are several major differences between synthesis of the leading strand and synthesis of the lagging strand. 1) Leading strand synthesis happens in the direction of replication fork opening, whereas lagging strand synthesis happens in the...
61.4K
01:17Colloids and Suspensions
3.5K
Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles visible to the naked eye or seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. The suspended particles in a suspension settle out after some time of mixing. The separation of particles from a suspension is...
3.5K
01:09Colloidal precipitates
6.5K
The high insolubility of some precipitates can result in an unfavorable relative supersaturation. This can lead to colloidal particles with a large surface-to-mass ratio, where adsorption is promoted. For instance, in the precipitation of silver chloride, silver ions are adsorbed on the surface of the colloidal particles, forming a primary layer. This layer attracts ions of opposite charge (such as nitrate ions), forming a diffuse secondary layer of adsorbed ions. This electric double layer...
6.5K
00:58Plasticity
3.1K
Plasticity is the property where an object loses its elasticity and undergoes irreversible deformation, even after the deformation forces are eliminated. If a material deforms irreversibly without increasing stress or load, then this is called ideal plasticity. For example, when a force is applied to an aluminum rod, it changes its shape, but it does not return to its original shape once the force is removed. Plastic deformation or ductility is thus a permanent deformation or change in the...
3.1K