Instabilities as a Measurement Tool for Soft Materials

Published

November 2, 2010

Author(s)

John A. Howarter, Christopher Stafford

Abstract

Mechanical instabilities such as wrinkles, creases, and folds have long been viewed as a source of frustration for engineers and often a point of curiosity among scientists. Scientists aspire to understand the underlying physics behind the formation of these instabilities and how they might manipulate them for various endeavors, while engineers use this same understanding to design materials that inhibit or impede the formation of instabilities in critical applications. In recent years, a new movement in this community has emerged: harnessing these instabilities to provide critical insight into the properties of soft materials. We describe here the foundation of one particular analytical tool based on surface wrinkling and how this approach has been used to measure materials and systems that are inherently difficult to characterize. We also highlight some of specific challenges and opportunities we envision for this measurement tool. Within this framework, we believe that there is great potential for broadening the capabilities of this wrinkling metrology as the field of instabilities in soft matter continues to mature.

Citation

Soft Matter

Volume

6

Issue

22

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

metrology, wrinkling, instability, polymer, thin films

Citation

Howarter, J. and Stafford, C. (2010), Instabilities as a Measurement Tool for Soft Materials, Soft Matter, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=905663 (Accessed May 17, 2025)