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SUMMARY:Yielding and Fluidization of Sheared and Active Amorphous Solids -
  Professor Srikanth Sastry\, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientif
 ic Research
DTSTART:20260421T140000Z
DTEND:20260421T150000Z
UID:TALK245908@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Lisa Masters
DESCRIPTION:The mechanical behaviour of amorphous solids\, from molecular 
 glasses\, soft materials\, to granular matter\, is of interest in diverse 
 contexts – from biological assemblies to geophysical structures – with
  the response to repeated\, or cyclic\, deformation being of particular im
 portance. The nature of plasticity and internal structure change\, leading
  to eventual failure\, is more elusive in amorphous solids than their crys
 talline counterparts. The transition to the yielded state exhibits several
  striking features\, including a divergence of the number of cycles to fai
 lure\, and a non-monotonic approach to failure. Failure times\, although b
 roadly distributed\, can be remarkably well predicted from measures of pla
 sticity and dissipated work. A remarkable analogy holds between yielding i
 n amorphous solids and the fluidization of “active solids”\, composed 
 of self-propelled particles. The interplay of finite persistence times of 
 active forces\, and confinement -- both relevant in the case of sub-cellul
 ar biological assemblies -- has rich implications for the fluidization beh
 aviour. We use the insights from these investigations to formulate an appr
 oach to understanding mechanically induced cell state transitions through 
 coarse-grained models. Investigations through computer simulations\, and t
 heoretical models that reproduce and rationalize these observations will b
 e described.\n1) Maity\, S.\, Bhaumik\, H.\, Athani\, S. et al. Fatigue fa
 ilure in glasses under cyclic shear deformation. Nat. Phys. (2026). https:
 //doi.org/10.1038/s41567-026-03174-x\n2) Goswami\, Y.\, Shivashankar\, G.V
 . & Sastry\, S. Yielding behaviour of active particles in bulk and in conf
 inement. Nat. Phys. 21\, 817–824 (2025). 
LOCATION:Pfizer Lecture Theatre - Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry
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