Discrete thickness

We investigate the relationship between a discrete version of thickness and its smooth counterpart. These discrete energies are deffned on equilateral polygons with n vertices. It will turn out that the smooth ropelength, which is the scale invariant quotient of length divided by thickness, is the Γ-limit of the discrete ropelength for n → ∞, regarding the topology induced by the Sobolev norm ‖ · ‖ W1,∞(S1,ℝd). This result directly implies the convergence of almost minimizers of the discrete energies in a fixed knot class to minimizers of the smooth energy.Moreover,we show that the unique absolute minimizer of inverse discrete thickness is the regular n-gon.

On the global stability of two-dimensional, incompressible, elastic bars in uniaxial extension

When a rectangular bar is subjected to uniaxial tension, the bar usually deforms (approximately) homogeneously and isoaxially until a critical load is reached. A bifurcation, such as the formation of shear bands or a neck, may then be observed. One approach is to model such an experiment as the in-plane extension of a two-dimensional, homogeneous, isotropic, incompressible, hyperelastic material in which the length of the bar is prescribed, the ends of the bar are assumed to be free of shear and the sides are left completely free. It is shown that standard constitutive hypotheses on the stored-energy function imply that no such bifurcation is possible in this model due to the fact that the homogeneous isoaxial deformation is the unique absolute minimizer of the elastic energy. Thus, in order for a bifurcation to occur either the material must cease to be elastic or the stored-energy function must violate the standard hypotheses. The fact that no local bifurcations can occur under the assumptions used herein was known previously, since these assumptions prohibit the load on the bar from reaching a maximum value. However, the fact that the homogeneous deformation is the absolute minimizer of the energy appears to be a new result.

A singular minimization problem for droplet profiles

A minimization problem for partially wetting droplet profiles is considered, in which Van der Waal's forces have been taken into account via a singular ‘disjoining pressure’. When the singular disjoining pressure is neglected, energy minimization leads to Laplace's equation and Young's equation; once the singular disjoining pressure is included, this is no longer the case. Indeed, the free energy is no longer bounded from below. Introducing the notion of overtaking to compare the energies of configurations whose energies are arbitrarily large and negative, we demonstrate that if a configuration is not convex then it cannot be an absolute minimizer. If profiles are allowed to ‘double-over’ then there does not exist an absolute minimizer. Within the class of profiles which do not double-over, absolute minimizers are shown to exist; these minimizing profiles are not single-valued. The singular minimization problem is shown to be discontinuously dependent on the definition of the wetting profile in the neighbourhood of the contact points; the implications of this discontinuity are discussed.