Macroscale chains have been proposed to give insight into the physics of molecular polymer systems. However, using the concept of thermodynamics for such macroscopic out-of-equilibrium systems is a matter of open debate. On the other hand, understanding the rheological response of systems of quasi-one-dimensional semiflexible materials, such as bead-chain packings, is currently a great challenge. In this talk, we study the dynamics of a single macro scale chain and an assembly of entangled chains in two different geometries and try to compare our findings with polymer physics when it is possible. For the entangled chain system, we observe a universal transition from localized to wide shear zones, that occurs upon shearing the system. We show that the nonlinear rheological response is governed by the interplay between increasing stored elastic forces due to entanglements and interlocking between chains. The insight from this study can be used as a guide to design the microstructure of new materials with peculiar mechanical responses.


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https://www.skyroom.online/ch/schoolofnanoscience/weeklyseminars