title: The clapping book: wind-driven oscillations in a stack of elastic sheets.
abstract: We present a hybrid experimental and theoretical study on the oscillatory behavior exhibited by multiple thin sheets under aerodynamic loading. Our clapping book consists of a stack of paper, clamped at the downstream end and placed in a wind tunnel with steady flow. As pages lift off, they accumulate onto a bent stack held up by the wind. The book collapses shut once the elasticity and weight of the pages overcome the aerodynamic force; this process repeats periodically. We develop a theoretical model that predictively describes this periodic clapping process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Buchak
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eloy
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Reis