Strain engineering enables modification of the properties of thin films using the stress from the substrates on which they are grown. Strain may be relaxed, however, and this can also modify the properties thanks to the coupling between strain gradient and polarization known as flexoelectricity. Here we have studied the strain distribution inside epitaxial films of the archetypal ferroelectric ...

We discuss the influence of flexoelectricity on the critical thickness of a hybrid aligned nematic liquid crystal cell. We show that the critical thickness is independent of the flexoelectrical properties of the nematic only under the hypothesis that the distorted-undistorted transition is of second order. Afterall, the only effect of flexoelectricity is to introduce a very large elastic anisot...

Recent developments in flexoelectricity, especially in nanostructures, have lead to several interesting notions such as piezoelectric materials without using piezoelectric materials and enhanced energy harvesting at the nanoscale, among others. In the biological context also, membrane flexoelectricity has been hypothesized to play an important role, e.g., biological mechanotransduction and hear...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and Piezo-assisted sperm injection after pretreatment with calcium ionophore (CaI) on the mouse embryo development. Methods: In this study, the conventional ICSI and Piezo-ICSI procedures were used. The efficacy of the methods was examined after mouse matured oocytes were fertilized with or witho...

We present a mixed finite element formulation for flexoelectric nanostructures that is coupled with topology optimization to maximize their intrinsic material performance with regards to their energy conversion potential. Using Barium Titanate (BTO) as the model flexoelectric material, we demonstrate the significant enhancement in energy conversion that can be obtained using topology optimizati...

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Distributed segmented piezo-electric actuators bonded to an elastic substructure and embedded inside a laminated composite material are modeled. Static mechanical models for various actuator geometries exciting both extension and flexure in the substructural material are developed. The flexural static models for both surface bonded and embedded cases are then integrated into a simple dynamic mo...