{"title":"Artificial sunflower: Light-induced deformation of photoactive shells","authors":"Sathvik Sanagala, Kaushik Bhattacharya","doi":"10.1016/j.eml.2025.102302","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Photomechanically active materials undergo reversible deformation on illumination, making them ideal for remote, tether-free actuation. Much of the work on these materials has focused on one-dimensional structures, such as strips. In this paper, we explore photomechanically active two-dimensional structures such as sheets and shells. When illuminated, such structures undergo spontaneous bending due to the limited penetration of light. However, the geometry of the shell constrains possible deformation modes: changes in Gauss curvature lead to in-plane stretching, against which shells are very stiff. Therefore, there is a complex coupling between the photomechanical actuation and the mechanical behavior of a shell. We develop and implement a novel approach to study photomechanically active shells. This method is a discrete shell model which captures the interplay between actuation, stretching, bending, and geometric changes. Through a series of examples, we explore these complex interactions, demonstrating how one can design shells that deform to follow the source of illumination.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56247,"journal":{"name":"Extreme Mechanics Letters","volume":"76 ","pages":"Article 102302"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Extreme Mechanics Letters","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352431625000148","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Photomechanically active materials undergo reversible deformation on illumination, making them ideal for remote, tether-free actuation. Much of the work on these materials has focused on one-dimensional structures, such as strips. In this paper, we explore photomechanically active two-dimensional structures such as sheets and shells. When illuminated, such structures undergo spontaneous bending due to the limited penetration of light. However, the geometry of the shell constrains possible deformation modes: changes in Gauss curvature lead to in-plane stretching, against which shells are very stiff. Therefore, there is a complex coupling between the photomechanical actuation and the mechanical behavior of a shell. We develop and implement a novel approach to study photomechanically active shells. This method is a discrete shell model which captures the interplay between actuation, stretching, bending, and geometric changes. Through a series of examples, we explore these complex interactions, demonstrating how one can design shells that deform to follow the source of illumination.
期刊介绍:
Extreme Mechanics Letters (EML) enables rapid communication of research that highlights the role of mechanics in multi-disciplinary areas across materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and engineering. Emphasis is on the impact, depth and originality of new concepts, methods and observations at the forefront of applied sciences.