The mechanical properties of films of gels composed of a crude oil or corn oil and (R)-12-hydroxystearic acid are described using oscillatory rheology and water-surface waves. The integrity of these gel films are contrasted with those of neat oil films subjected to the same types of mechanical testing. The oil-based gels are thixotropic, and we quantify their post-recovery yield. A simple model...

We present a proof-of-principle study about the use of a sensor for the nondestructive monitoring of strength development in hydrating concrete. The nondestructive evaluation technique is based on the propagation of highly nonlinear solitary waves (HNSWs), which are non-dispersive mechanical waves that can form and travel in highly nonlinear systems, such as one-dimensional particle chains. A b...

Many developing neurons transition through a multi-polar state with many competing neurites before assuming a unipolar state with one axon and multiple dendrites. Hallmarks of the multi-polar state are large fluctuations in microtubule-based transport into and outgrowth of different neurites, although what drives these fluctuations remains elusive. We show that actin waves, which stochastically...

Neutron-multiwave-interference phenomena based on Ramsey’s resonance method of ‘‘separated oscillating fields’’ are studied. A neutron passes through N successive resonant coils (\v052mnB0), which flip the neutron spin with a probability r smaller than 1. These coils are separated by path lengths L over which a homogeneous field B1 is present. Because the spin-flip probability r is smaller than...

This paper presents a forward calculation and analytic results of plate wave propagation in stressed plates of cubic materials. The single crystalline Ge films deposited on the Z-cut silicon wafers are investigated. Significant biaxial residual stresses in the film results from the lattice misfit between of the Ge film and the Si substrate. Phase velocity change of the acoustic waves due to mec...

In this study, a framework for understanding the propagation of stress waves in brain tissue under blast loading has been developed. It was shown that tissue nonlinearity and rate dependence are the key parameters in predicting the mechanical behavior under such loadings, as they determine whether traveling waves could become steeper and eventually evolve into shock discontinuities. To investig...

Travelling waves are the physical basis of frequency discrimination in many vertebrate and invertebrate taxa, including mammals, birds, and some insects. In bushcrickets (Tettigoniidae), the crista acustica is the hearing organ that has been shown to use sound-induced travelling waves. Up to now, data on mechanical characteristics of sound-induced travelling waves were only available along the ...

A hybrid technique has been developed that uses both electromagnetic and elastic waves in a synergistic manner to detect buried land mines. The system consists of a moving electromagnetic radar and a stationary elastic-wave source. The source generates elastic waves in the earth. These waves interact with the buried mine and cause both the mine and the earth to be displaced. Because the mechani...

We propose a multiscale chemo-mechanical model of cancer tumor development in epithelial tissue. The model is based on the transformation of normal cells into a cancerous state triggered by a local failure of spatial synchronization of the circadian rhythm. The model includes mechanical interactions and a chemical signal exchange between neighboring cells, as well as a division of cells and int...

Coordinated motion of cell monolayers during epithelial wound healing and tissue morphogenesis involves mechanical stress generation. Here we propose a model for the dynamics of epithelial expansion that couples mechanical deformations in the tissue to contractile activity and polarization in the cells. A new ingredient of our model is a feedback between local strain, polarization, and contract...