arXiv subjects

Saman Seifi

Publications and source records attributed to Saman Seifi.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A Stabilized Diffuse-Interface Electroporation Model with a Semi-Analytical Spectral Electrolyte Solver

We develop a diffuse-interface continuum model for membrane electroporation that couples a phase field for pore geometry to a quasi-static electrolyte potential and a spatially varying leaky-dielectric model for the transmembrane voltage. The main contribution is a stabilized time-integration strategy for transmembrane voltage $V_m$: the stiff leakage term is treated implicitly while the electrolyte-to-membrane ionic current is lagged, yielding a closed-form update that removes the restriction imposed by the fast dielectric relaxation time. The electrolyte potential is computed efficiently using a semi-analytical spectral Laplace solver: a 2D DCT in the membrane plane reduces the 3D problem to independent 1D ODEs in $z$, solved in closed form and reconstructed by an inverse transform. The coupled method is robust under grid refinement, reproduces the sharp-interface critical-radius bifurcation, and captures electric-field focusing through conductive pores. We also demonstrate stochastic pore nucleation by adding thermal noise to the phase-field dynamics, enabling fully emergent electroporation events without prescribing initial defects.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2018

A Staggered Explicit-Implicit Finite Element Formulation for Electroactive Polymers

Electroactive polymers such as dielectric elastomers (DEs) have attracted significant attention in recent years. Computational techniques to solve the coupled electromechanical system of equations for this class of materials have universally centered around fully coupled monolithic formulations, which while generating good accuracy requires significant computational expense. However, this has significantly hindered the ability to solve large scale, fully three-dimensional problems involving complex deformations and electromechanical instabilities of DEs. In this work, we provide theoretical basis for the effectiveness and accuracy of staggered explicit-implicit finite element formulations for this class of electromechanically coupled materials, and elicit the simplicity of the resulting staggered formulation. We demonstrate the stability and accuracy of the staggered approach by solving complex electromechanically coupled problems involving electroactive polymers, where we focus on problems involving electromechanical instabilities such as creasing, wrinkling, and bursting drops. In all examples, essentially identical results to the fully monolithic solution are obtained, showing the accuracy of the staggered approach at a significantly reduced computational cost.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2016

Surface Tension Effects on Surface Instabilities of Dielectric Elastomers

Dielectric elastomers have recently been proposed for various biologically-relevant applications, in which they may operate in fluidic environments where surface tension effects may have a significant effect on their stability and reliability. Here, we present a theoretical analysis coupled with computational modeling for a generalized electromechanical analysis of surface stability in dielectric elastomers accounting for surface tension effects. For mechanically deformed elastomers, significant increases in critical strain and instability wavelength are observed for small elastocapillary numbers. When the elastomers are deformed electrostatically, both surface tension and the amount of pre-compression are found to substantially increase the critical electric field while decreasing the instability wavelength.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2015

Computational Modeling of Electro-Elasto-Capillary Phenomena in Dielectric Elastomers

We present a new finite deformation, dynamic finite element model that incorporates surface tension to capture elastocapillary effects on the electromechanical deformation of dielectric elastomers. We demonstrate the significant effect that surface tension can have on the deformation of dielectric elastomers through three numerical examples: (1) surface tension effects on the deformation of single finite elements with homogeneous and inhomogeneous boundary conditions; (2) surface tension effects on instabilities in constrained dielectric elastomer films, and (3) surface tension effects on bursting drops in solid dielectrics. Generally, we find that surface tension creates a barrier to instability nucleation. Specifically, we find in agreement with recent experimental studies of constrained dielectric elastomer films a transition in the surface instability mechanism depending on the elastocapillary length. The present results indicate that the proposed methodology may be beneficial in studying the electromechanical deformation and instabilities for dielectric elastomers in the presence of surface tension.

cond-mat.soft↗