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Hydrogels, polymeric networks swollen with water, exhibit time/rate-dependent adhesion due to their poroviscoleastic constitution. 

Water loss in clamped gelatin disks leads to built-up of in-plane stress (A) and increase in elastic modulus (B), as characterized by the laser vibrometry of the first two axisymmetric vibration modes of the disks (C). 

Past decades featured significant advancements in additive and micromanufacturing that facilitated the creation of functional patterned surfaces with impressive spatial resolutions. However, these techniques are expensive and require a considerable amount of time and energy, and hence lack scalability to practical surfaces. Recent techniques employing spinodal decomposition and instabilities amplified via centrifugal acceleration offer viable and cheaper alternatives. The patterns created by those techniques, however, vary randomly in geometry. When interfacing those patterned surfaces with other components and under self-contact scenarios, geometric variations lead to stress concentration and abrupt failure around the contact. In this study, we investigate numerically real contact areas, contact tractions, and stress concentration. We generate patterned surfaces in congruence with actual surfaces created by those techniques. Then, we conduct normal-contact analyses of those surfaces boundary element method (BEM) under nominal mean pressures ranging from 0.001E* toE*, whereE* is the contact modulus. We record real contact areas and stress concentration as a function of nominal mean pressures. We compare these values with the analytical solutions from sinusoidally-patterned and randomly rough surfaces. Randomness in pattern geometry is primarily influenced by the processing parameters such as the degree of anisotropy in spinodal decomposition and acceleration in amplified instabilities. To understand the influence of the processing parameters, we perform a parametric study. We find isotropic spinodal decomposition creates patterns that deliver contact area and traction distributions similar to randomly rough surfaces, and lead to high-stress concentrations. Such high-stress concentrations are expected to occur under self-contact loading scenarios, and thus can explain the compromised resilience and strength in recently-proposed spinodal metamaterials. For patterned surfaces created by amplified instabilities, high-stress concentrations are obtained for the surfaces created at high accelerations. At high accelerations, increased elastic instabilities and stochastic growth result in a more skewed and broader distribution in heights. Therefore, high-stress concentrations are inevitable. To account for combined loading scenarios, we conduct additional simulations on the same surface patterns with frictional pre-sliding contacts. We find the frictional tractions play a secondary role in stress concentrations where the primary factor is the processing parameters determining the degree of randomness in pattern geometry. 

Abstract In this paper, the nonlinear response of indenter–foam dampers is characterized. Those dampers consist of indenters pressed on open-cell foams swollen with wetting liquids. Recently, the authors identified the dominant mechanism of damping in those dampers as poro-viscoelastic (PVE) relaxations as in articular cartilage, one of nature’s best solutions to vibration attenuation. Those previous works by the authors included dynamic mechanical analyses of the indenter–foam dampers under small vibrations, i.e., linear regime. The current study features the dynamic response of similar dampers under larger strains to investigate the nonlinear regime. In particular, the indenter–foam dampers tested in this paper consist of an open-cell polyurethane foam swollen with castor oil. Harmonic displacements are applied on the swollen and pre-compressed foam using a flat-ended cylindrical indenter. Measured forces and corresponding hysteresis (force–displacement) loops are then analyzed to quantify damping performance (via specific damping capacity) and nonlinearities (via harmonic ratio). The effects of strain and strain rates on the damping capacity and harmonic ratio are investigated experimentally. The dominant source of the nonlinearity is identified as peeling at the indenter–foam interface (and quantified via peeling index). A representative model consisting of a linear viscoelastic foam and rate-dependent adhesive interface (slider element with limiting adhesive strength) explains the observed trends in peeling and thus nonlinear dynamic response. Possible remedies to suppress those nonlinearities in future designs of indenter–foam dampers are also discussed. 

Abstract Many applications in human health screening, soft robotics, and structural health monitoring require sensors that can accommodate large deformations and highly curved geometries, while providing reliable measurements across a range of frequencies. Ideally, such sensors will also be low cost and easy to manufacture. While prior studies achieve some of these goals, it is rare to achieve them all in a holistic manner. Here, a soft sensor that is easy to manufacture, affordable, and water compatible is presented. The sensor is made of a combination of carbon nanotubes and few‐layer graphene dispersed in a polydimethylsiloxane elastomer. The sensor's ability to detect a broad range of frequencies under both uniaxial stretch and bending is demonstrated. The sensor is effective in multiple configurations, including directly stretching the sensor, adhering the sensor to a deforming compliant substrate, and operating under water. Specifically, the sensor can accurately detect vibrational frequencies with amplitudes as small as 0.1% strain and excitation frequencies covering a broad range of 50–600 Hz with an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.16%. Even in the presence of large (≈ 20%) deformations and aqueous environments the sensor can recover the fundamental and higher order vibrational modes within less than 2% error. 

Abstract Articular cartilage is a thin layer of a solid matrix swollen by fluid, and it protects joints from damage via poroviscoelastic damping. Our previous experimental and simulation studies showed that cartilage-like poroviscoelastic damping could widen the range of damping methods in a low-frequency range (<100 Hz). Thus, the current study aimed to realize cartilage-like damping capacity by single- and two-indenter–foam poroviscoelastic dampers in a low-frequency range. Multiple single-indenter–foam dampers were designed by combining foam sheets with different pore diameters and indenters with different radii. Their damping capacity was investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis in a frequency range of 0.5–100 Hz. Single-indenter–foam dampers delivered peak damping frequencies that depended on the foam’s pore diameter and characteristic diffusion length (contact radii). Those dampers maximize the damping capacity at the desired frequency (narrowband performance). A mechanical model combined with simple scaling laws was shown to relate poroelasticity to the peak damping frequencies reasonably well. Finally, combinations of single-indenter–foam dampers were optimized to obtain a two-indenter–foam damper that delivered nearly rate-independent damping capacity within 0.5–100 Hz (broadband performance). These findings suggested that cartilage-like poroviscoelastic dampers can be an effective mean of passive damping for narrowband and broadband applications.