Professor Katia Bertoldi
Harvard John A. Paulson School of
Engineering & Applied Science
Harvard University, USA
will give the lecture
The power of buckling:
How instabilities enable smart, adaptive shells
Abstract:
Elastic shells are ubiquitous in engineering and natural systems, spanning different scales. It's widely recognized that their behavior is highly nonlinear and they are prone to a significant loss in their load-bearing capacity when they undergo buckling. Shell buckling emerged as one of the most challenging nonlinear problems in mechanics more than seventy years ago when it was intensively studied. Today, it resurfaces with renewed significance, driven not only by structural applications but also by advancements in the life sciences and soft materials. Here, we embrace the concepts of large deformations, instabilities, and multistability as avenues to enhance the functionality of shells. I will demonstrate how instabilities can be harnessed to induce intricate and reprogrammable deformations in shells, showcasing their potential utility in soft robotics and wearables.