Liquid Crystal Elastomers


Book Description

This text is a primer for liquid crystals, polymers, rubber and elasticity. It is directed at physicists, chemists, material scientists, engineers and applied mathematicians at the graduate student level and beyond.




Artificial Cilia


Book Description

Cilia are tiny hairs covering biological cells to generate and sense fluid flow. Millions of years of evolution have inspired a novel technology which is barely a decade old. Artificial cilia have been developed to control and sense fluid flow in microscopic systems, presenting new and interesting options for flow control in lab-on-a-chip devices. This appealing link between nature and technology has seen rapid development in the last few years, and this book presents a review of the state-of-the-art in the form of a professional reference book. The editors have pioneered the field, having initiated a major European project on this topic soon after its inception. Active researchers in academia and industry will benefit from the comprehensive nature of this book, while postgraduates and those new to the field will gain a clear understanding of the theory, techniques and applications of artificial cilia.




Laser-induced Graphene


Book Description

LIG is a revolutionary technique that uses a common CO2 infrared laser scriber, like the one used in any machine shop, for the direct conversion of polymers into porous graphene under ambient conditions. This technique combines the preparation and patterning of 3D graphene in a single step, without the use of wet chemicals. The ease in the structural engineering and excellent mechanical properties of the 3D graphene obtained have made LIG a versatile technique for applications across many fields. This book compiles cutting-edge research on LIG by different research groups all over the world. It discusses the strategies that have been developed to synthesize and engineer graphene, including controlling its properties such as porosity, composition, and surface characteristics. The authors are pioneers in the discovery and development of LIG and the book will appeal to anyone involved in nanotechnology, chemistry, environmental sciences, and device development, especially those with an interest in the synthesis and applications of graphene-based materials.




Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting


Book Description

The transformation of vibrations into electric energy through the use of piezoelectric devices is an exciting and rapidly developing area of research with a widening range of applications constantly materialising. With Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, world-leading researchers provide a timely and comprehensive coverage of the electromechanical modelling and applications of piezoelectric energy harvesters. They present principal modelling approaches, synthesizing fundamental material related to mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical and materials engineering disciplines for vibration-based energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting provides the first comprehensive treatment of distributed-parameter electromechanical modelling for piezoelectric energy harvesting with extensive case studies including experimental validations, and is the first book to address modelling of various forms of excitation in piezoelectric energy harvesting, ranging from airflow excitation to moving loads, thus ensuring its relevance to engineers in fields as disparate as aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Coverage includes: Analytical and approximate analytical distributed-parameter electromechanical models with illustrative theoretical case studies as well as extensive experimental validations Several problems of piezoelectric energy harvesting ranging from simple harmonic excitation to random vibrations Details of introducing and modelling piezoelectric coupling for various problems Modelling and exploiting nonlinear dynamics for performance enhancement, supported with experimental verifications Applications ranging from moving load excitation of slender bridges to airflow excitation of aeroelastic sections A review of standard nonlinear energy harvesting circuits with modelling aspects.




Computational Science – ICCS 2019


Book Description

The five-volume set LNCS 11536, 11537, 11538, 11539, and 11540 constitutes the proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Computational Science, ICCS 2019, held in Faro, Portugal, in June 2019. The total of 65 full papers and 168 workshop papers presented in this book set were carefully reviewed and selected from 573 submissions (228 submissions to the main track and 345 submissions to the workshops). The papers were organized in topical sections named: Part I: ICCS Main Track Part II: ICCS Main Track; Track of Advances in High-Performance Computational Earth Sciences: Applications and Frameworks; Track of Agent-Based Simulations, Adaptive Algorithms and Solvers; Track of Applications of Matrix Methods in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; Track of Architecture, Languages, Compilation and Hardware Support for Emerging and Heterogeneous Systems Part III: Track of Biomedical and Bioinformatics Challenges for Computer Science; Track of Classifier Learning from Difficult Data; Track of Computational Finance and Business Intelligence; Track of Computational Optimization, Modelling and Simulation; Track of Computational Science in IoT and Smart Systems Part IV: Track of Data-Driven Computational Sciences; Track of Machine Learning and Data Assimilation for Dynamical Systems; Track of Marine Computing in the Interconnected World for the Benefit of the Society; Track of Multiscale Modelling and Simulation; Track of Simulations of Flow and Transport: Modeling, Algorithms and Computation Part V: Track of Smart Systems: Computer Vision, Sensor Networks and Machine Learning; Track of Solving Problems with Uncertainties; Track of Teaching Computational Science; Poster Track ICCS 2019 Chapter “Comparing Domain-decomposition Methods for the Parallelization of Distributed Land Surface Models” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.




Advanced 3D-Printed Systems and Nanosystems for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering


Book Description

Advanced 3D-Printed Systems and Nanosystems for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering explores the intricacies of nanostructures and 3D printed systems in terms of their design as drug delivery or tissue engineering devices, their further evaluations and diverse applications. The book highlights the most recent advances in both nanosystems and 3D-printed systems for both drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. It discusses the convergence of biofabrication with nanotechnology, constructing a directional customizable biomaterial arrangement for promoting tissue regeneration, combined with the potential for controlled bioactive delivery. These discussions provide a new viewpoint for both biomaterials scientists and pharmaceutical scientists. - Shows how nanotechnology and 3D printing are being used to create systems which are intelligent, biomimetic and customizable to the patient - Explores the current generation of nanostructured 3D printed medical devices - Assesses the major challenges of using 3D printed nanosystems for the manufacture of new pharmaceuticals




Introduction to Soft Matter


Book Description

This book provides an introduction to this exciting and relativelynew subject with chapters covering natural and synthetic polymers,colloids, surfactants and liquid crystals highlighting the many andvaried applications of these materials. Written by an expert in thefield, this book will be an essential reference for people workingin both industry and academia and will aid in understanding of thisincreasingly popular topic. Contains a new chapter on biological soft matter Newly edited and updated chapters including updated coverageof recent aspects of polymer science. Contain problems at the end of each chapter to facilitateunderstanding




Bioinspired Sensing, Actuation, and Control in Underwater Soft Robotic Systems


Book Description

This book includes representative research from the state‐of‐the‐art in the emerging field of soft robotics, with a special focus on bioinspired soft robotics for underwater applications. Topics include novel materials, sensors, actuators, and system design for distributed estimation and control of soft robotic appendages inspired by the octopus and seastar. It summarizes the latest findings in an emerging field of bioinspired soft robotics for the underwater domain, primarily drawing from (but not limited to) an ongoing research program in bioinspired autonomous systems sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. The program has stimulated cross‐disciplinary research in biology, material science, computational mechanics, and systems and control for the purpose of creating novel robotic appendages for maritime applications. The book collects recent results in this area.




The Senses


Book Description

A powerful reminder to anyone who thinks design is primarily a visual pursuit, The Senses accompanies a major exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum that explores how space, materials, sound, and light affect the mind and body. Learn how contemporary designers, including Petra Blaisse, Bruce Mau, Malin+Goetz and many others, engage sensory experience. Multisensory design can solve problems and enhance life for everyone, including those with sensory disabilities. Featuring thematic essays on topics ranging from design for the table to tactile graphics, tactile sound, and visualizing the senses, this book is a call to action for multisensory design practice. The Senses: Design Beyond Vision is mandatory reading for students and professionals working in diverse fields, including products, interiors, graphics, interaction, sound, animation, and data visualization, or anyone seeking the widest possible understanding of design. The book, designed by David Genco with Ellen Lupton, is edited by Lupton and curator Andrea Lipps. Includes essays by Lupton, Lipps, Christopher Brosius, Hansel Bauman, Karen Kraskow, Binglei Yan, and Simon Kinnear.




Shape Memory Materials


Book Description

This work addresses the basic principles, synthesis / fabrication and applications of smart materials, specifically shape memory materials Based on origin, the mechanisms of transformations vary in different shape memory materials and are discussed in different chapters under titles of shape memory alloys, ceramics, gels and polymers Complete coverage of composite formation with polymer matrix and reinforcement filler conductive materials with examples