In this thesis we will demonstrates how to construct a counting mechanical metamate- rial that is based on bi-stable buckling beams by creating a material that can count to ten. By coupling...Show moreIn this thesis we will demonstrates how to construct a counting mechanical metamate- rial that is based on bi-stable buckling beams by creating a material that can count to ten. By coupling bistable buckling beams in a suitable geometry we can design mate- rials that when cyclically compressed between two critical strains. We show that when two adjacent buckled beams touch, there is a characteristic length scale - the inversion length - that determines which of two beams snaps through when compressed to the snapping strain. We experimentally and analytically work out the characteristic inver- sion distance length scale that determines the outcome of the battle of the buckling beams and show how to modify beam geometries to design counting behaviour for many beam materials.Show less
The DNA in eukaryotic organisms is largely stored in a compact wrap around histone proteins to form nucleosomes. The mechanics of the DNA play a major role in the biological processes for which the...Show moreThe DNA in eukaryotic organisms is largely stored in a compact wrap around histone proteins to form nucleosomes. The mechanics of the DNA play a major role in the biological processes for which the DNA is used. In this thesis we will computationally show that we can study the mechanics of the DNA with a simplified computational model. By parametrically constraining the DNA around a superhelical curve we can calculate the mechanical energy of the DNA by only the sequence of the DNA and the positions along the curve. We will demonstrate how, with Monte Carlo methods we can effectively estimate the sequence and position statistics of nucleosomal DNA.Show less
