FLEXLAB

Our research focuses on embracing mechanical instabilities of slender structures toward devising, understanding and exploiting novel functional mechanisms, over a wide range of lengthscales.

Research at EPFL’s Flexible Structures Laboratory (the fleXLab) focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the large deformation of slender structures that emerge in their post-buckling regime. We seek to harvest the underlying mechanical instabilities towards understanding and exploiting novel functional mechanisms, over a wide range of length scales.

Our work is rooted on the basis of recognizing scaled high-precision model experiments as a powerful tool for discovery and exploration in Mechanics, supported by theory and computation, in a vision of science-enabled engineering and engineering-motivated science. The final goal is to develop new classes of functional, flexible structures that can be rationally designed using predictive modeling frameworks.

We are passionate about engineering applications of flexible thin structures across a wide range of length scales, as well as opening up new curiosity-driven fundamental questions (and providing answers!) in this class of geometrically nonlinear mechanical systems.

• 03/11/2022
  Dong’s paper “A reduced-order, rotation-based model for thin hard-magnetic plates” is published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids [journal link].

• 26/08/2022
  Luna’s paper “Not gone with the wind: Active microscale flight with highly porous bristled wings” is published in Matter [journal link].

• 26/08/2022
  Pierre’s paper “Tapered foils favor traveling-wave kinematics to enhance the performance of flapping propulsion” is published in Physical Review Fluids [journal link].

• 26/08/2022
  Claudio’s paper “Flexural-tensegrity snapping tails for bio-inspired propulsion in fluids” is published in Extreme Mechanics Letters [journal link].

• 27/05/2022
  Tomohiko’s paper “Exploring the inner workings of the clove hitch knot” is published in Extreme Mechanics Letters [journal link].

• 27/05/2022
  Matteo’s paper “A geometrically exact model for thin magneto-elastic shells” is published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids [journal link].

• 27/05/2022
  Paul Grandgeorge’s paper “An elastic rod in frictional contact with a rigid cylinder” is published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids [journal link].

• 27/05/2022
  Tomohiko’s paper “A Kirchhoff-like theory for hard magnetic rods under geometrically nonlinear deformation in three dimensions” is published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids [journal link].

• 27/05/2022
  Dong’s paper “A comprehensive framework for hard-magnetic beams: Reduced-order theory, 3D simulations, and experiments” is published in the International Journal of Solids and Structures [journal link].

• 01/11/2021
  Luna Lin (from the US) joins the fleXLab as a Postdoc.

• 22/10/2021
  Changyeob’s paper “Smooth triaxial weaving with naturally curved ribbons” is published in Physical Review Letters [journal link] (Editor’s Suggestion & Cover Story [pdf], Physics Synopsis [html], Nature Reviews Physics Research Highlight [html]).

• 01/10/2021
  Eduardo Gutiérrez Prieto (from Spain) joins the fleXLab as a Ph.D. Graduate Student.

• 15/08/2021
  Michael Gomez (from the United Kingdom) joins the fleXLab as a Postdoc.

• 25/06/2021
  Arefeh’s paper “Probing the buckling of pressurized spherical shells” is published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids [journal link].

• 10/06/2021
  Samuel’s paper “Bending response of a book with internal friction” is published in Physical Review Letters [journal link].

• 01/06/2021
  Fani Derveni (from Greece) joins the fleXLab as a Postdoc.

• 20/05/2021
  Dong’s paper “Magneto-active elastic shells with tunable buckling strength” is published in Nature Communications [journal link].

• 14/04/2021
  Paul Grandgeorge’s paper “Mechanics of two filaments in tight orthogonal contact” is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [journal link].

• 25/01/2021
  Paul Johanns’s paper “The shapes of physical trefoil knots” is published in Extreme Mechanics Letters [journal link].

• 20/01/2021
  Tian’s paper “A reprogrammable mechanical metamaterial with stable memory” is published in Nature [journal link] (Nature News and Views [html] and EPFL News [html]).

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fleXLab – Flexible Structures Laboratory

EPFL PATH IGM FLEXLAB 
MED 0 1726 (Batiment MED) 
Station 9 
CH-1015 Lausanne 

Phone: +41 21 69 35726

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