The systematic errors due to the practical implementation of the Contact Dynamics method for simulation of dense granular media are examined. It is shown that, using the usual iterative solver to simulate a chain of rigid particles, effective elasticity and sound propagation with a finite velocity occur. The characteristics of these phenomena are investigated analytically and numerically in order to assess the limits of applicability of this simulation method and to compare it with soft particle molecular dynamics.
We introduce methods for large scale Brownian Dynamics (BD) simulation of many rigid particles of arbitrary shape suspended in a fluctuating fluid. Our method adds Brownian motion to the rigid multiblob method at a cost comparable to the cost of deterministic simulations. We demonstrate that we can efficiently generate deterministic and random displacements for many particles using preconditioned Krylov iterative methods, if kernel methods to efficiently compute the action of the Rotne-Prager-Yamakawa (RPY) mobility matrix and it square root are available for the given boundary conditions. We address a major challenge in large-scale BD simulations, capturing the stochastic drift term that arises because of the configuration-dependent mobility. Unlike the widely-used Fixman midpoint scheme, our methods utilize random finite differences and do not require the solution of resistance problems or the computation of the action of the inverse square root of the RPY mobility matrix. We construct two temporal schemes which are viable for large scale simulations, an Euler-Maruyama traction scheme and a Trapezoidal Slip scheme, which minimize the number of mobility solves per time step while capturing the required stochastic drift terms. We validate and compare these schemes numerically by modeling suspensions of boomerang shaped particles sedimented near a bottom wall. Using the trapezoidal scheme, we investigate the steady-state active motion in a dense suspensions of confined microrollers, whose height above the wall is set by a combination of thermal noise and active flows. We find the existence of two populations of active particles, slower ones closer to the bottom and faster ones above them, and demonstrate that our method provides quantitative accuracy even with relatively coarse resolutions of the particle geometry.
The morphology of an elastic strip subject to vertical compressive stress on a frictional rigid substrate is investigated by a combination of theory and experiment. We find a rich variety of morphologies, which -when the bending elasticity dominates over the effect of gravity- are classified into three distinct types of states: pinned, partially slipped, and completely slipped, depending on the magnitude of the vertical strain and coefficient of static friction. We develop a theory of elastica under mixed clamped-hinged boundary conditions combined with the Coulomb-Amontons friction law, and find excellent quantitative agreement with simulations and controlled physical experiments. We also discuss the effect of gravity in order to bridge the difference in qualitative behaviors of stiff strips and flexible strings, or ropes. Our study thus complements recent work on elastic rope coiling, and takes a significant step towards establishing a unified understanding of how a thin elastic object interacts vertically with a solid surface.
Experiments suggest that the migration of some cells in the three-dimensional extra cellular matrix bears strong resemblance to one-dimensional cell migration. Motivated by this observation, we construct and study a minimal one-dimensional model cell made of two beads and an active spring moving along a rigid track. The active spring models the stress fibers with their myosin-driven contractility and alpha-actinin-driven extendability, while the friction coefficients of the two beads describe the catch/slip bond behavior of the integrins in focal adhesions. In the absence of active noise, net motion arises from an interplay between active contractility (and passive extendability) of the stress fibers and an asymmetry between the front and back of the cell due to catch bond behavior of integrins at the front of the cell and slip bond behavior of integrins at the back. We obtain reasonable cell speeds with independently estimated parameters. We also study the effects of hysteresis in the active spring, due to catch bond behavior and the dynamics of cross-linking, and the addition of active noise on the motion of the cell. Our model highlights the role of alpha-actinin in three-dimensional cell motility and does not require Arp2/3 actin filament nucleation for net motion.
When a flat elastic strip is compressed along its axis, it is bent in one of two possible directions via spontaneous symmetry breaking and forms a cylindrical arc, a phenomenon well known as Euler buckling. When this cylindrical section is pushed in the other direction, the bending direction can suddenly reverse. This instability is called snap-through buckling and is one of the elementary shape transitions in a prestressed thin structure. Combining experiments and theory, we study snap-buckling of an elastic strip with one end hinged and the other end clamped. These asymmetric boundary constraints break the intrinsic symmetry of the strip, generating rich exotic mechanical behaviors including largely hysteretic but reproducible force responses and switch-like discontinuous shape changes. We establish the set of exact analytical solutions that fully explain all of our major experimental and numerical findings. Asymmetric boundary conditions arise naturally in diverse situations when a thin object is in contact with a solid surface at one end, but their profound consequences for the buckling mechanics have been largely overlooked to date. The idea of introducing asymmetry through boundary conditions would yield new insight into complex and programmable functionalities in material and industrial design.
We present a theory for the interaction between motile particles in an elastic medium on a substrate, relying on two arguments: a moving particle creates a strikingly fore-aft asymmetric distortion in the elastic medium; this strain field reorients other particles. We show that this leads to sensing, attraction and pursuit, with a non-reciprocal character, between a pair of motile particles. We confirm the predicted distortion fields and non-mutual trail-following in our experiments and simulations on polar granular rods made motile by vibration, moving through a dense monolayer of beads in its crystalline phase. Our theory should be of relevance to the interaction of motile cells in the extracellular matrix or in a supported layer of gel or tissue.