Modeling elastic instabilities in nematic elastomers

Abstract

Liquid crystal elastomers are cross-linked polymer networks covalently bonded with liquid crystal mesogens. In the nematic phase, due to strong coupling between mechanical strain and orientational order, these materials display strain-induced instabilities associated with formation and evolution of orientational domains. Using a 3-d finite element elastodynamics simulation, we investigate one such instability, the onset of stripe formation in a monodomain film stretched along an axis perpendicular to the nematic director. In our simulation we observe the formation of striped domains with alternating director rotation. This model allows us to explore the fundamental physics governing dynamic mechanical response of nematic elastomers and also provides a potentially useful computational tool for engineering device applications.

4 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (2)

• Semi-soft Nematic Elastomers and Nematics in Crossed Electric and Magnetic Fields
• Soft elasticity in biaxial smectic and smectic-C elastomers

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Shape and Chirality Transitions in Off-Axis Twist Nematic Elastomer Ribbons
• Accelerated computational micromechanics
• Tunable wrinkling of thin nematic liquid crystal elastomer sheets
• Elastic stress effects on microstructural instabilities
• Deformation localisation in stretched liquid crystal elastomers
• Surface tension of membranes depending on the boundary shape