Paper Curling

Depositing a drop of water on a piece of dry paper will make the paper deform. In fact, dried paper that was flat before being wetted often deforms plastically: after drying, paper is often inherently curved. The interaction between a liquid and paper fabric is very complex, involving forces such as surface tension, pore pressure and adhesion. In this project you will probe the role of humidity on the fabric of paper, and the way this parameter affects the mechanical behavior. We will use a dynamical mechanical analyser, combined with microscopy and other imaging techniques.

This project is available for both Bachelor and Master students; Research Methods and Advanced Soft Matter are very helpful courses to provide background knowledge.