Shapes of a Suspended Curly Hair
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Miller-2014-Shapes of a suspended.pdf
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Author(s)
Miller, J. T.
Audoly, Basile
Lazarus, Arnaud
Reis, Pedro Miguel
Date Issued
February 2014
Journal
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Miller, J. T., A. Lazarus, B. Audoly, and P. M. Reis. “Shapes of a Suspended Curly Hair.” Physical Review Letters 112, no. 6 (February 2014). © 2014 American Physical Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We investigate how natural curvature affects the configuration of a thin elastic rod suspended under its own weight, as when a single strand of hair hangs under gravity. We combine precision desktop experiments, numerics, and theoretical analysis to explore the equilibrium shapes set by the coupled effects of elasticity, natural curvature, nonlinear geometry, and gravity. A phase diagram is constructed in terms of the control parameters of the system, namely the dimensionless curvature and weight, where we identify three distinct regions: planar curls, localized helices, and global helices. We analyze the stability of planar configurations, and describe the localization of helical patterns for long rods, near their free end. The observed shapes and their associated phase boundaries are then rationalized based on the underlying physical ingredients.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.068103
