Nemato-elastic crawlers
arXiv:1512.00206 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.93.022703
Abstract
A propagating "beam" triggering a local phase transition in a nematic elastomer sets it into a crawling motion, which may morph due to buckling. We consider the motion of the various configurations of slender rods and thin stripes with both uniform and splayed nematic order in cross-section, and detect the dependence of the gait and speed on flexural rigidity and substrate friction.