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Aging of Elastic Bodies
Ori Lev1, Sagy Lachmann1, Shmuel M Rubinstein1,2
1The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1, The Racah Institute of Physics, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
Physical Review Letters
|July 26, 2026
Summary
Crumpled Mylar sheets show logarithmic relaxation behavior. This study reveals an intrinsic asymmetry in their relaxation response, driven solely by force-relaxation modes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Soft Matter Physics
- Mechanical Engineering
Background:
- Crumpled materials exhibit complex mechanical behaviors, including relaxation under stress.
- Understanding the dynamics of crumpled structures is crucial for designing novel materials and devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relaxation dynamics of crumpled Mylar sheets under different controlled conditions.
- To develop and validate a generalized model predicting the relaxation behavior of these materials.
- To identify the underlying mechanisms governing the relaxation process.
Main Methods:
- Performing cyclic relaxation experiments on crumpled Mylar sheets.
- Applying both force-controlled and displacement-controlled loading conditions.
- Generalizing the Amir-Oreg-Imry model to incorporate nonlinear elasticity.
Main Results:
- Crumpled Mylar sheets demonstrate logarithmic relaxation under both force and displacement control.
- A continuous family of force-displacement curves was observed, evolving towards equilibrium.
- An intrinsic asymmetry in relaxation was confirmed: force relaxation is independent of elastic fluctuations, while displacement relaxation inherits temporal evolution from them.
Conclusions:
- Relaxation in crumpled sheets is fundamentally governed by a spectrum of force-relaxation modes.
- The observed asymmetry is independent of the imposed boundary conditions.
- The generalized Amir-Oreg-Imry model accurately predicts the experimental findings.
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