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1. Strain Glass State, Strain Glass Transition, and Controlled Strain Release

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-matsci-081720-091919  

   Wang, Dong; Ji, Yuanchao; Ren, Xiaobing; Wang, Yunzhi (July 2022, Annual Review of Materials Research)

   Strain glass is a new strain state discovered recently in ferroelastic systems that is characterized by nanoscale martensitic domains formed through a freezing transition. These nanodomains typically have mottled or tweed morphology depending on the elastic anisotropy of the system. Strain glass transition is a broadly smeared and high order–like transition, taking place within a wide temperature or stress range. It is accompanied by many unique properties, including linear superelasticity with high strength, low modulus, Invar and Elinvar anomalies, and large magnetostriction. In this review, we first discuss experimental characterization and testing that have led to the discovery of the strain glass transition and its unique properties. We then introduce theoretical models and computer simulations that have shed light on the origin and mechanisms underlying the unique characteristics and properties of strain glass transitions. Unresolved issues and challenges in strain glass study are also addressed. Strain glass transition can offer giant elastic strain and ultralow elastic modulus by well-controlled reversible structural phase transformations through defect engineering. 

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2. Strain and strain gradient engineering in membranes of quantum materials

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0146553  

   Du, Dongxue; Hu, Jiamian; Kawasaki, Jason K. (April 2023, Applied Physics Letters)

   Strain is powerful for discovery and manipulation of new phases of matter; however, elastic strains accessible to epitaxial films and bulk crystals are typically limited to small ( < 2 %), uniform, and often discrete values. This Perspective highlights emerging directions for strain and strain gradient engineering in free-standing single-crystalline membranes of quantum materials. Membranes enable large ( ∼ 10 %), continuously tunable strains and strain gradients via bending and rippling. Moreover, strain gradients break inversion symmetry to activate polar distortions, ferroelectricity, chiral spin textures, superconductivity, and topological states. Recent advances in membrane synthesis by remote epitaxy and sacrificial etch layers enable extreme strains in transition metal oxides, intermetallics, and Heusler compounds, expanding beyond the natively van der Waals (vdW) materials like graphene. We highlight emerging opportunities and challenges for strain and strain gradient engineering in membranes of non-vdW materials. 

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3. Microscale and nanoscale strain mapping techniques applied to creep of rocks

   https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-751-2017  

   Quintanilla-Terminel, Alejandra; Zimmerman, Mark E.; Evans, Brian; Kohlstedt, David L. (January 2017, Solid Earth)

   Usually several deformation mechanisms interact to accommodate plastic deformation. Quantifying the contribution of each to the total strain is necessary to bridge the gaps from observations of microstructures, to geomechanical descriptions, to extrapolating from laboratory data to field observations. Here, we describe the experimental and computational techniques involved in microscale strain mapping (MSSM), which allows strain produced during high-pressure, high-temperature deformation experiments to be tracked with high resolution. MSSM relies on the analysis of the relative displacement of initially regularly spaced markers after deformation. We present two lithography techniques used to pattern rock substrates at different scales: photolithography and electron-beam lithography. Further, we discuss the challenges of applying the MSSM technique to samples used in high-temperature and high-pressure experiments. We applied the MSSM technique to a study of strain partitioning during creep of Carrara marble and grain boundary sliding in San Carlos olivine, synthetic forsterite, and Solnhofen limestone at a confining pressure, P_c, of 300 MPa and homologous temperatures, T∕T_m, of 0.3 to 0.6. The MSSM technique works very well up to temperatures of 700 °C. The experimental developments described here show promising results for higher-temperature applications. 

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4. Quantitative Evaluation of Cardiac Cell Interactions and Responses to Cyclic Strain

   https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10113199  

   Tran, Richard Duc; Morris, Tessa Altair; Gonzalez, Daniela; Hetta, Ali Hatem; Grosberg, Anna (November 2021, Cells)

   The heart has a dynamic mechanical environment contributed by its unique cellular composition and the resultant complex tissue structure. In pathological heart tissue, both the mechanics and cell composition can change and influence each other. As a result, the interplay between the cell phenotype and mechanical stimulation needs to be considered to understand the biophysical cell interactions and organization in healthy and diseased myocardium. In this work, we hypothesized that the overall tissue organization is controlled by varying densities of cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts in the heart. In order to test this hypothesis, we utilized a combination of mechanical strain, co-cultures of different cell types, and inhibitory drugs that block intercellular junction formation. To accomplish this, an image analysis pipeline was developed to automatically measure cell type-specific organization relative to the stretch direction. The results indicated that cardiac cell type-specific densities influence the overall organization of heart tissue such that it is possible to model healthy and fibrotic heart tissue in vitro. This study provides insight into how to mimic the dynamic mechanical environment of the heart in engineered tissue as well as providing valuable information about the process of cardiac remodeling and repair in diseased hearts. 

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5. Resistance to radial expansion limits muscle strain and work

   Azizi, E.; Deslauriers, A. R.; Holt, N. C.; Eaton, C. E. (April 2017, Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology)