Mechanics of Soft Materials

4 credits

(Cross-listed with MATS 231.) Main focus is the large deformations and instabilities in soft materials, such as elastomers, gels, and biomaterials. Some contents in thermodynamics and finite deformation theory are reviewed and summarized. Fundamental theories are applied to study the mechanics of gels, electroactive polymers, and biomaterials. This course intends to use soft material as an example to illustrate how to study the interaction between mechanics and other fields in materials (e.g., electric field, chemical field). Students may not receive credit for both MAE 276 and MATS 231. Prerequisites: graduate standing.