In this paper, we analyze the effect of stress-fiber inclusion on the stiffness of an actin random network. To do this, use a discrete random network model to analyze the elastic response of this system in terms of apparent Young’s modulus. First, we showed that for a flat-ended cylindrical AFM indenter the total indentation force has a linear relation with the indentation depth and the indente...

We study the elasticity of random fiber networks. Starting from a microscopic picture of the nonaffine deformation fields, we calculate the macroscopic elastic moduli both in a scaling theory and a self-consistent effective medium theory. By relating nonaffinity to the low-energy excitations of the network ("floppy modes"), we achieve a detailed characterization of the nonaffine deformations pr...

Liquid flow through unsaturated fibrous material has a variety of applications in different industries. Liquid distribution in fibrous structures has been experimentally studied for decades [1]. Accurate quantitative prediction of the liquid penetration, however, is not easy. This is because of the presence of a large number of parameters influencing the liquid transport in such structures. The...

Filamentous networks can be widely found in biomaterials at the microand nano-scales. Some conventional theories may not apply to the materials with dimension at the microor nano-scale. The effects of strain gradient at the micro-meter scale and the effects of surface elasticity and initial stresses/strains at the nano-scale are incorporated into the deformation mechanisms in the analysis of st...

An effective-medium model is introduced for the elasticity of two-dimensional random fiber networks. These networks are commonly used as basic models of heterogeneous fibrous structures such as paper. Using the exact Poissonian statistics to describe the microscopic geometry of the network, the tensile modulus can be expressed by a single-parameter function. This parameter depends on the networ...

Hysteresis in the saturation versus capillary pressure curves of neutrally wettable fibrous media was simulated with a random pore network model using a Voronoi diagram approach. The network was calibrated to fit experimental air-water capillary pressure data collected for carbon fibre paper commonly used as a gas diffusion layer in fuel cells. These materials exhibit unusually strong capillary...

We study the linear and nonlinear elastic behavior of amorphous systems using a two-dimensional random network of harmonic springs as a model system. A natural characterization of these systems arises in terms of the network coordination (average number of springs per node) relative to that of a marginally rigid network deltaz: a floppy network has deltaz<0, while a stiff network has deltaz>0. ...