02214nas a2200145 4500008004100000245011100041210006900152300001100221490000800232520168500240100002601925700002301951700002201974856007201996 2023 eng d00aNonreciprocal oscillations of polyelectrolyte gel filaments subject to a steady and uniform electric field0 aNonreciprocal oscillations of polyelectrolyte gel filaments subj a1052250 v1733 aSoft actuators typically require time-varying or spatially modulated control to be operationally effective. The scope of the present paper is to show, theoretically and experimentally, that a natural way to overcome this limitation is to exploit mechanical instabilities. We report experiments on active filaments of polyelectrolyte (PE) gels subject to a steady and uniform electric field. A large enough intensity of the field initiates the motion of the active filaments, leading to periodic oscillations. We develop a mathematical model based on morphoelasticity theory for PE gel filaments beating in a viscous fluid, and carry out the stability analysis of the governing equations to show the emergence of flutter and divergence instabilities for suitable values of the system’s parameters. We confirm the results of the stability analysis with numerical simulations for the nonlinear equations of motion to show that such instabilities may lead to periodic self-sustained oscillations, in agreement with experiments. The key mechanism that underlies such behaviour is the capability of the filament to undergo active shape changes depending on its local orientation relative to the external electric field, in striking similarity with gravitropism, the mechanism that drives shape changes in plants via differential growth induced by gravity. Interestingly, the resulting oscillations are nonreciprocal in nature, and hence able to generate thrust and directed flow at low Reynolds number. The exploitation of mechanical instabilities in soft actuators represents a new avenue for the advancement in engineering design in fields such as micro-robotics and micro-fluidics.1 aCicconofri, Giancarlo1 aDamioli, Valentina1 aNoselli, Giovanni uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002250962300029701203nas a2200133 4500008004100000245007700041210006900118490000800187520076200195100002500957700002200982700002201004856004301026 2021 eng d00aNutations in growing plant shoots as a morphoelastic flutter instability0 aNutations in growing plant shoots as a morphoelastic flutter ins0 v3793 a

Growing plant shoots exhibit spontaneous oscillations that Darwin observed, and termed "circumnutations". Recently, they have received renewed attention for the design and optimal actuation of bioinspired robotic devices. We discuss a possible interpretation of these spontaneous oscillations as a Hopf-type bifurcation in a growing morphoelastic rod. Using a three-dimensional model and numerical simulations, we analyse the salient features of this flutter-like phenomenon (e.g. the characteristic period of the oscillations) and their dependence on the model details (in particular, the impact of choosing different growth models) finding that, overall, these features are robust with respect to changes in the details of the growth model adopted.

1 aAgostinelli, Daniele1 aNoselli, Giovanni1 aDeSimone, Antonio uhttps://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.011601749nas a2200157 4500008004100000022001400041245010700055210006900162260003400231490000700265520118500272100002501457700002201482700002201504856006501526 2021 eng d a1664-462X00aNutations in plant shoots: Endogenous and exogenous factors in the presence of mechanical deformations0 aNutations in plant shoots Endogenous and exogenous factors in th bCold Spring Harbor Laboratory0 v123 a

We present a three-dimensional morphoelastic rod model capable to describe the morphogenesis of growing plant shoots driven by differential growth. We discuss the evolution laws for endogenous oscillators, straightening mechanisms, and reorientations to directional cues, such as gravitropic reactions governed by the avalanche dynamics of statoliths. We use this model to investigate the role of elastic deflections due to gravity loading in circumnutating plant shoots. We show that, in the absence of endogenous cues, pendular and circular oscillations arise as a critical length is attained, thus suggesting the occurrence of an instability triggered by exogenous factors. When also oscillations due to endogenous cues are present, their weight relative to those associated with the instability varies in time as the shoot length and other biomechanical properties change. Thanks to the simultaneous occurrence of these two oscillatory mechanisms, we are able to reproduce a variety of complex behaviors, including trochoid-like patterns, which evolve into circular orbits as the shoot length increases, and the amplitude of the exogenous oscillations becomes dominant.

1 aAgostinelli, Daniele1 aDeSimone, Antonio1 aNoselli, Giovanni uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2021.60800502026nas a2200205 4500008004100000022001400041245009500055210006900150300001100219520136500230653002001595653002401615653001701639653002101656100002501677700002701702700002201729700002201751856004701773 2019 eng d a0022-509600aNutations in growing plant shoots: The role of elastic deformations due to gravity loading0 aNutations in growing plant shoots The role of elastic deformatio a1037023 a

The effect of elastic deformations induced by gravity loading on the active circumnutation movements of growing plant shoots is investigated. We consider first a discrete model (a gravitropic spring-pendulum system) and then a continuous rod model which is analyzed both analytically (under the assumption of small deformations) and numerically (in the large deformation regime). We find that, for a choice of material parameters consistent with values reported in the available literature on plant shoots, rods of sufficient length may exhibit lateral oscillations of increasing amplitude, which eventually converge to limit cycles. This behavior strongly suggests the occurrence of a Hopf bifurcation, just as for the gravitropic spring-pendulum system, for which this result is rigorously established. At least in this restricted set of material parameters, our analysis supports a view of Darwin’s circumnutations as a biological analogue to structural systems exhibiting flutter instabilities, i.e., spontaneous oscillations away from equilibrium configurations driven by non-conservative loads. Here, in the context of nutation movements of growing plant shoots, the energy needed to sustain oscillations is continuously supplied to the system by the internal biochemical machinery presiding the capability of plants to maintain a vertical pose.

10aCircumnutations10aFlutter instability10aGravitropism10aHopf bifurcation1 aAgostinelli, Daniele1 aLucantonio, Alessandro1 aNoselli, Giovanni1 aDeSimone, Antonio uhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2019.103702