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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.13520 |
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| _version_ | 1866915676137979904 |
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| author | Ghadai, Abhishek Majumdar, Sayantan |
| author_facet | Ghadai, Abhishek Majumdar, Sayantan |
| contents | Materials driven far from equilibrium can encode memories of past deformations through long-lived structural reorganisations. Such memory effects-reflecting parameters such as deformation direction, magnitude, and duration have been widely explored in soft amorphous solids. Here, we report a Kovacs-like memory effect manifested as a non-monotonic stress relaxation in vitro biopolymer networks formed by collagen, an essential component of the mammalian extracellular matrix. Using shear rheology combined with in-situ optical imaging, we find that this memory effect emerges exclusively in the nonlinear strain-stiffening regime, and persists over a much broader range of strain amplitudes than previously reported for other viscoelastic amorphous materials. Furthermore, we uncover a strong correlation between the memory response and the development of negative normal stresses and associated strain fields, highlighting the unique nonequilibrium mechanics underlying memory formation in biopolymer networks. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_13520 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Kovacs-like memory effect in strain stiffening collagen networks Ghadai, Abhishek Majumdar, Sayantan Soft Condensed Matter Materials driven far from equilibrium can encode memories of past deformations through long-lived structural reorganisations. Such memory effects-reflecting parameters such as deformation direction, magnitude, and duration have been widely explored in soft amorphous solids. Here, we report a Kovacs-like memory effect manifested as a non-monotonic stress relaxation in vitro biopolymer networks formed by collagen, an essential component of the mammalian extracellular matrix. Using shear rheology combined with in-situ optical imaging, we find that this memory effect emerges exclusively in the nonlinear strain-stiffening regime, and persists over a much broader range of strain amplitudes than previously reported for other viscoelastic amorphous materials. Furthermore, we uncover a strong correlation between the memory response and the development of negative normal stresses and associated strain fields, highlighting the unique nonequilibrium mechanics underlying memory formation in biopolymer networks. |
| title | Kovacs-like memory effect in strain stiffening collagen networks |
| topic | Soft Condensed Matter |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.13520 |