Seminar Schedule – Spring 2015

Monday, May 4, 2015
Time: 4:00-5:00PM
Place: WRW 102

Structural Stability at Large and Small Scales: Shells and Soft Materials

John W. Hutchinson – Harvard University

The stability of elastic solids and structures continues to be scientifically fascinating and technically important. Current research activity is focused on soft materials, revealing intriguing wrinkle patterns and instances of highly unstable behavior of compressed elastomers and gels. Relatively benign wrinkles can collapse to creases, folds or ridges, triggered by tiny imperfections, with close analogy to the dramatic collapses displayed when shell structures buckle. Shell buckling emerged as one of the most challenging problems in mechanics fifty years ago when it was intensively studied, and it remains a challenge with new efforts recently launched. An overview of recent developments in the area of nonlinear stability phenomena will be presented with non-specialists in mind. Commonalities between shells and soft materials will be highlighted augmented by numerous pictures of instability modes and patterns.