Soft coring: How to get a clarinet out of a flute?

Cutting mozzarella with a dull blade results in poorly shaped slices: the process occurs in a configuration so deformed as to yield unexpectedly curved surfaces. We study the morphogenetics arising from such process through the example of coring: when a thin cylindrical hollow punch is pushed into a soft elastomer, the large transverse expansion occurring during the cutting is responsible for the clarinet-shapeof the extracted core, which reaches diameters far smaller than those of the tool. With contributions from fracture mechanics and large strain theory, we build a simple yet quantitative understanding of the observed discrepancy, which is shown to occur when the size of the punch is smaller than a characteristic, tomo-elastic length scale. Moreover, material nonlinearity and friction appear to play a crucial role in this phenomenon. (c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Cutting mozzarella with a dull blade results in poorly shaped slices due to the deformation during the cutting process. Through the example of coring, we study the morphogenetics arising from this process, where the large transverse expansion leads to the clarinet-shape of the extracted core. By considering fracture mechanics and large strain theory, we develop a simple quantitative understanding of the observed discrepancy, which occurs when the punch size is smaller than a characteristic length scale. Material nonlinearity and friction also play a crucial role in this phenomenon.