Wrinkling in Curved Films

Wrinkling is a self-organizing process that can spontaneously generate periodic structures out of a uniform surface and represents a promising pathway for designing materials that naturally adopt a regular topography. Recently, intrinsic curvature has been explored as a means for driving wrinkling processes; this can be observed when one tries to wrap a flat map onto a globe, which leads to patterns of creases or folds on it. Using 3D-printed moulds, we prepare elastic membranes with different curvatures, including cases of positive and negative Gaussian curvature, and shapes with two distinct principal curvatures. Through these, we experimentally investigate the means to control the appearance, amplitude, and wavelength of wrinkles that spontaneously form when a curved membrane is constrained by a flat fluid substrate, and how these properties change along the membrane.