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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Perfusion and Inflation of the Mouse Lung for Tumor Histology
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Programming curvilinear paths of flat inflatables
Emmanuel Siéfert1, Etienne Reyssat2, José Bico2
1Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, CNRS UMR7636, Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles de Paris (ESPCI), Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, 75005 Paris, France emmanuel.siefert@espci.fr.
Abstract:
Inflatable structures offer a path for light deployable structures in medicine, architecture, and aerospace. In this study, we address the challenge of programming the shape of thin sheets of high-stretching modulus cut and sealed along their edges. Internal pressure induces the inflation of the structure into a deployed shape that maximizes its volume. We focus on the shape and nonlinear mechanics of inflated rings and more generally, of any sealed curvilinear path. We rationalize the stress state of the sheet and infer the counterintuitive increase of curvature observed on inflation. In addition to the change of curvature, wrinkles patterns are observed in the region under compression in agreement with our minimal model. We finally develop a simple numerical tool to solve the inverse problem of programming any 2-dimensional (2D) curve on inflation and illustrate the application potential by moving an object along an intricate target path with a simple pressure input.
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