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.

• 20/03/2020
  Dong’s paper “Buckling of pressurized spherical shells containing a through-thickness defect” is published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids [journal link].

• 02/10/2019
  Matteo’s paper “A weak form implementation of nonlinear axisymmetric shell equations with examples” is published in the Journal of Applied Mechanics [journal link].

• 16/08/2019
  Elizabeth’s paper “Hydrodynamic loading of perforated disks in creeping flows” is published in Physical Review Fluids [journal link].

• 28/06/2019
  Anna’s paper “Evolution of critical buckling conditions in imperfect bilayer shells through residual swelling” is published in Soft Matter [journal link].

• 29/05/2019
  Mark’s paper “Programmable aerodynamic drag on active dimpled cylinders” is published in Advanced Engineering Materials [journal link] and highlighted in Advanced Science News  [news link].

• 29/03/2019
  New projects open for EPFL students. Check them out [here].

• 7/1/2019
  Samuel Poincloux (from France), Armelle Keiser (from France) and Tian Chen (from Canada) join the fleXLab as Postdocs.

• 04/12/2018
  Comment by Pedro Reis, Fabian Brau and Pascal Damman “The mechanics of slender structures” is published in Nature Physics. [journal link].

• 16/11/2018
  Changyeob’s paper “Rigidity of hemispherical elastic gridshells under point load indentation” is published in JMPS. [journal link].

• 26/10/2018
  Joel’s paper “Designing soft materials with interfacial instabilities in liquid films” is published in Nature Communications. [journal link].

• 17/10/2018
  Joel’s paper “Solid structures generated by capillary instability in thin liquid films” is published in Physical Review Fluids. [journal link].

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fleXLab – Flexible Structures Laboratory

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

Phone: +41 21 69 35726

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