5 papers · 1 filter
Work and Activation in a Nematic Polymer Network Ribbon
H. Singh, K. Suryanarayanan, E. G. Virga
We study spontaneous deformations of a ribbon made of nematic polymer networks and activated under the action of a mechanical load. We show that when such ribbons are activated app…
Surface Nematic Quasi-Uniformity
Andrea Pedrini, Epifanio G. Virga
Line fields on surfaces are a means to describe the nematic order that may pattern them. The least distorted nematic fields are called uniform, but they can only exist on surfaces…
Surface Nematic Uniformity
Andrea Pedrini, Epifanio G. Virga
An ant-like observer confined to a two-dimensional surface traversed by stripes would wonder whether this striped landscape could be devised in such a way as to appear to be the sa…
A Variational Theory for Soft Shells
Andre M. Sonnet, Epifanio G. Virga
Three general modes are distinguished in the deformation of a thin shell; these are stretching, drilling, and bending. Of these, the drilling mode is the one more likely to emerge…
Singular Twist Waves in Chromonic Liquid Crystals
Silvia Paparini, Epifanio G. Virga
Chromonic liquid crystals are lyotropic nematic phases whose applications span from food to drug industries. It has recently been suggested that the elastic energy density governin…