Research
The group’s research activity combines analytical, numerical and experimental techniques to unveil, exploit and design the nonlinear, time-dependent, and thermomechanical response of novel lightweight materials and highly deformable structures.
Structural membranes
From stratospheric balloons to lightweight buildings, membrane materials are ubiquitous in structural applications, offering exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, energy efficiency and safety. We aim to characterise and model the complex and pronounced nonlinear, time, temperature and strain rate dependent response of engineering films to unlock the design of ultralightweight membrane structures with increased reliability, safety and enhanced geometric stability.
Active project: Ultralight membrane structures towards a sustainable environment – EU H2020 MSCA-ITN-EID-LIGHTEN-956547 – Visit the dedicated project website ➔.
- F. Bosi, S. Pellegrino (2018). Nonlinear thermomechanical response and constitutive modeling of viscoelastic polyethylene membranes. Mechanics of Materials, 117, 9-21. [PDF]
- F. Bosi, S. Pellegrino (2017). Molecular based temperature and strain rate dependent yield criterion for anisotropic elastomeric thin films. Polymer, 125, 144 -153. [PDF]
Architected materials
Architected materials are three-dimensional structured solids designed at the micro and nanoscale through an arrangement of beams, plates and shells. The topological control of small-scale features in architected materials fosters unique and advanced properties not attainable by their constituent materials. We develop theoretical and experimental techniques to design, model and fabricate microarchitected material with tailored functionalities, such as a combination of strength, stiffness and hydrophobicity in carbon lattices.
- A. Kudo, F. Bosi (2020). Nanographitic coating enables hydrophobicity in lightweight and strong microarchitected carbon. Communications Materials, 1 (1), 1-10. [PDF]
- A. Kudo, D. Misseroni, Y. Wei, F. Bosi (2019). Compressive response of non-slender octet carbon microlattices. Frontiers in Materials, 6, 169. [PDF]
Configurational mechanics
The Eshelbian or configurational force is the main concept of a celebrated theoretical framework associated with the motion of dislocations and defects in solids. The discovery of the existence of ‘configurational’ or ‘Eshelby-like’ forces in elastic structures opens a new perspective in the mechanics of highly deformable bodies, such as the creation of novel devices that exploit structural reconfiguration, restabilisation, suppression of instabilities, and soft actuation.
- D. Bigoni, F. Dal Corso, F. Bosi, D. Misseroni (2015). Eshelby-like forces acting on elastic structures: theoretical and experimental proof. Mechanics of Materials, 80, 368–374. [PDF]
- D. Bigoni, F. Dal Corso, D. Misseroni, F. Bosi (2014). Torsional locomotion. Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 470, 20140599. Cover Paper March 2015. [PDF]
- F. Bosi, D. Misseroni, F. Dal Corso, D. Bigoni (2014). An elastica arm scale. Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 470, 20140232. Cover Paper October 2014, Royal Society Publishing July 2014 Highlights. [PDF]
- D. Bigoni, F. Bosi, F. Dal Corso, D. Misseroni (2014). Instability of a penetrating blade. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 64, 411-425. [PDF]