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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Weicheng Huang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Flexible slender structures such as rods, ribbons, plates, and shells exhibit extreme nonlinear responses – bending, twisting, buckling, wrinkling, and self-contact – that defy conventional simulation frameworks. Discrete Differential Geometry (DDG) has emerged as a geometry-first, structure-preserving paradigm for modeling such behaviors. Unlike finite element or mass–spring methods, DDG discretizes geometry rather than governing equations, allowing curvature, twist, and strain to be defined directly on meshes. This approach yields robust large-deformation dynamics, accurate handling of contact, and differentiability essential for inverse design and learning-based control. This review consolidates the rapidly expanding landscape of DDG models across 1D and 2D systems, including discrete elastic rods, ribbons, plates, and shells, as well as multiphysics extensions to contact, magnetic actuation, and fluid–structure interaction. We synthesize applications spanning mechanics of nonlinear instabilities, biological morphogenesis, functional structures and devices, and robotics from manipulation to soft machines. Compared with established approaches, DDG offers a unique balance of geometric fidelity, computational efficiency, and algorithmic differentiability, bridging continuum rigor with real-time, contact-rich performance. We conclude by outlining opportunities for multiphysics coupling, hybrid physics–data pipelines, and scalable GPU-accelerated solvers, and by emphasizing DDG’s role in enabling digital twins, sim-to-real transfer, and intelligent design of next-generation flexible systems.
Author(s): Tong D, Choi A, Wang J, Huang W, Chen Z, Li J, Huang X, Liu M, Gao H, Hsia KJ
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Extreme Mechanics Letters
Year: 2026
Volume: 82
Print publication date: 01/01/2026
Online publication date: 01/12/2025
Acceptance date: 30/11/2025
ISSN (electronic): 2352-4316
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eml.2025.102430
DOI: 10.1016/j.eml.2025.102430
Data Access Statement: Data will be made available on request.
