Hi! My name is Paul.
I completed my PhD in Mechanics at Nantes Université (France) in 2022.
I am currently doing a postdoc on bio-inspired actuators at Aix-Marseille Université (France).
My research topics are inflatable systems, such as inflatable panels and inflatable cells in plants known as pulvinus.
You can read my thesis here (in English).
Research on inflatable panels
What are inflatable panels?
They are inflatable structures that are thin enough to be considered as plates.
What are they used for?
From leisure and temporary construction to space exploration, inflatable structures may be used to create lightweight and rigid floors, walls, surfboards, paddles and even wings.
Scientific challenges
Non-linear dynamics, large displacements, optical measurement of 3D displacement field.
Research on inflatable actuators: bio-inspired from the pulvinus of Mimosa pudica
What is a pulvinus?
The pulvinus can be thought of as the plant's "muscle". It is a joint at the base of a leaf that can contract and expand on command with changes of osmotic pressure.
How do we draw inspiration from them?
Pulvinii, much like muscles, are resilient to damage: the tissue retains part of its actuation capacity due the redundancy of the cells. By controlling the turgor pressure in each cell individually, it becomes possible to achieve a variety of movements and macroscopic mechanical behaviors.
Scientific challenges
Periodic homogenization of inflatable systems, finite element simulation of elastomers in large deformation, surrogate model.