Multi-field Coupling Mechanics of Soft Matter

Multi-field coupling mechanics investigates how soft materials respond and evolve under the simultaneous action of multiple physical fields—mechanical loading, thermal fluctuations, electric/magnetic stimuli, and fluidic transport.

When these fields interact, they drive morphological evolution, induce damage and failure, and reshape the constitutive relations that govern material behavior. This is crucial for biological tissues and engineered soft systems (electroactive polymers, soft robots, responsive gels).

Key questions

• How do coupled thermal/electrical/fluidic fields influence morphology?
• What are the damage and failure mechanisms under multi-field loading?
• How to build constitutive models capturing nonlinear, history-dependent coupling?
• Can we exploit coupling for programmable/adaptive functionalities?