Soft Solids

Soft Solids research is centred on material modelling and characterisation including deformation and fracture.  Our materials are mostly soft polymers with an inherent complex rheological behaviour (e.g. non-linear viscoelasticity) and complex microstructural multi-phase geometries at various length scales. The Soft Solids group is unique world-wide in that has a very wide expertise on applying mechanics principles and developing multi-scale computational models predicting the mechanical behaviour of these materials. State of the art techniques are used to measure and model the behaviour. The group’s work has received considerable funding through both RCUK and industry. The importance of our research is mirrored from the large number of applications we have studied so far including the particulate composites world, medical adhesives, foods, paints and coatings.