Simulation technology designed for Hollywood can be used as predictive tool for understanding fundamental engineering
Monday, September 29, 2014 - 14:20
in Physics & Chemistry
When one sends an email from Boston to Beijing, it travels through submarine optical cables that someone had to install at some point. The positioning of these cables can generate intriguing coiling patterns that can also cause problems if, for instance, they are tangled or kinked. The deployment of a rodlike structure onto a moving substrate is commonly found in a variety of engineering applications, from the fabrication of nanotube serpentines to the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and engineers for years have been interested in predicting the mechanics of filamentary structures and the coiling process.