2022/11/22 by Davide Bigoni, Bigoni, Davide, Marco Amato +3
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2212.00010
openalex publication_date 2022/11/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
With a loose reference to problems of penetration in biomechanics (for instance, a nanoparticle penetrating through a cell's membrane or a cell sucked with a pipette), the role of configurational forces is investigated during the process in which a compliant intruder is inserted into an elastic structure. For insertion into a rigid constraint, a configurational force proportional to the square of the strain needed to deform the body, which is penetrating, is found. This force has a more complex structure when the compliance of the constraint is kept into account, but in all cases, it tends to expel the penetrating body.