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arXiv · 1702.05530

Surface creasing of soft elastic continua as a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition

T. A. Engstrom·J. M. Schwarz
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Abstract

Harnessing a model from composite materials science, we show how point-like cusped surface features arise as quasi-particle excitations, termed "ghost fibers", on the surface of a homogeneous soft elastic material. These deformations appear above a critical compressive strain at which ghost fiber dipoles unbind, analogous to vortices in the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. Finite-length creases can be described in the same framework. Our predictions for crease surface profiles and onset strain agree with previous experiments and simulations, and further experimental tests are proposed.

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T. A. Engstrom, J. M. Schwarz. 2017-02-17. Surface creasing of soft elastic continua as a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075%2F118%2F56005

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