arXiv subjects

Anthony Gravouil

Publications and source records attributed to Anthony Gravouil.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Normal contact of metainterfaces: the roles of finite size and microcontact interactions

The design of contact interfaces that meet quantitatively a specified friction law (friction force vs normal force) is challenging due to the multi-scale and multi-physics nature of contact interactions. Recently, a concept was proposed to address this question in the case of dry elastic microarchitected contact interfaces, so-called metainterfaces. These take their macroscopic friction properties from an array of discrete asperities whose geometrical descriptors are optimized through an inverse design phase. Such design is based on the experimentally-observed proportionality between friction force and real contact area under pure compression, reducing the friction problem to a simpler contact mechanics problem of designing the contact area. In this context, the design strategy assumes that asperities are placed on a linear elastic half-space and behave independently from each other. Both assumptions are likely to fail in experimental realizations of metainterfaces, potentially inducing discrepancies between the actual and target behaviours. Here, we use full 3D finite element modelling to critically assess the validity of those two assumptions in existing experimental metainterfaces, and their potential impact on the design quality. The results first confirm the validity of the strategy, in the conditions in which it was used in the literature. Then, by systematically varying the spatial arrangement of asperities, their interdistance and the size of their elastic base, we identify conditions under which the literature assumptions fail. Our findings provide critical insights into the robustness and practical limitations of the metainterface design strategy and guidelines for its future improvements.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2025

Classical and relativistic balance of configurational forces

This article develops a unified variational framework for configurational (or material) forces in both Classical (3D, non-relativistic) and Relativistic (4D) Continuum Mechanics. Configurational forces describe the evolution of material defects-such as cracks, dislocations, and interfaces-which move relative to the material rather than through physical space. In the classical setting of hyperelasticity, the authors revisit the balance of configurational forces using an intrinsic Lagrangian formulation, where the material body is modeled as an abstract three-dimensional manifold. By treating the reference configuration as a variable and performing a Lagrangian variation with respect to it, they show that the configurational forces balance naturally emerges. Importantly, this balance equation is not independent: it is equivalent to the standard balance of linear momentum combined with constitutive relations, and it is expressed through the Eshelby stress tensor on the reference configuration. The framework is then extended to Relativistic Hyperelasticity within General Relativity. Matter is described by a matter field, a vector valued function, defined on the four-dimensional Universe, and the Lagrangian (i.e., Action) includes both matter and gravitational contributions. Two stress-energy tensors arise: the Noether stress-energy tensor (from variations with respect to the matter field) and the Hilbert stress-energy tensor (from variations with respect to the Universe metric). Assuming General Covariance, the authors prove that these tensors and their associated balance laws are equivalent. By introducing the notion of an observer and specializing to static spacetimes, the authors define a relativistic generalization of the deformation and derive a four-dimensional Eshelby tensor. They show that in Special Relativity, as in Classical Continuum Mechanics, the relativistic configurational forces balance is not a new equation but follows from the conservation laws of the Noether stress-energy tensor. Finally, they recover the classical configurational forces balance as the non-relativistic limit of the relativistic theory. Overall, the paper provides a rigorous geometric and variational interpretation of configurational forces, unifying classical and relativistic formulations and clarifying their deep connection with standard equilibrium equations.

physics.med-ph↗

arXiv2022

A continuum model reproducing the multiple frequency crossovers in acoustic attenuation in glasses

Structured metamaterials are at the core of extensive research, promising for acoustic and thermal engineering. Nevertheless, the computational cost required for correctly simulating large systems imposes to use a continuous model to describe the effective behavior without knowing the atomistic details. Crucially, a correct description needs to describe both the extrinsic interface-induced and the intrinsic atomic scale-originated phonon scattering, especially when the component material is made of glass, a highly dissipative material in which wave attenuation is strongly dependent on frequency as well as on temperature. In amorphous systems, the effective acoustic attenuation triggered by multiple mechanisms is now well characterized and exhibits a nontrivial frequency dependence with a double crossover of power laws. In this work, we propose a continuum viscoelastic model based on the hierarchical strategy multi-scale approach, able to reproduce well the phonon attenuation in a large frequency range, spanning three orders of magnitude from GHz to THz with a $ω^2-ω^4-ω^2$ dependence, including the influence of temperature.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Role of a fractal shape of the inclusions on acoustic attenuation in a nanocomposite

Nanophononic materials are promising to control the transport of sound in the GHz range and heat in the THz range. Here we are interested in the influence of a dendritic shape of inclusion on acoustic attenuation. We investigate a Finite Element numerical simulation of the transient propagation of an acoustic wave-packet in 2D nanophononic materials with circular or dendritic inclusions periodically distributed in matrix. By measuring the penetration length, diffusivity, and instantaneous wave velocity, we find that the multi-branching tree-like form of dendrites provides a continuous source of phonon-interface scattering leading to an increasing acoustic attenuation. When the wavelength is far less than the inter-inclusion distance, we report a strong attenuation process in the dendritic case which can be fitted by a compressed exponential function with $β>1$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗