Mistry, D orcid.org/0000-0003-0012-6781 and Gleeson, HF orcid.org/0000-0002-7494-2100 (2019) Mechanical deformations of a liquid crystal elastomer at director angles between 0° and 90°: Deducing an empirical model encompassing anisotropic nonlinearity. Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics, 57 (20). pp. 1367-1377. ISSN 0887-6266
Abstract
Despite the wealth of studies reporting mechanical properties of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), no theory can currently describe their complete mechanical anisotropy and nonlinearity. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of mechanical anisotropy in an all‐acrylate LCE via tensile tests that simultaneously track liquid crystal (LC) director rotation. We then use an empirical approach to gain a deeper insight into the LCE's mechanical responses at values of strain, up to 1.5, for initial director orientations between 0° and 90°. Using a method analogous to time–temperature superposition, we create master curves for the LCE's mechanical response and use these to deduce a model that accurately predicts the load curve of the LCE for stresses applied at angles between 15° and 70° relative to the initial LC director. This LCE has been shown to exhibit auxetic behavior for deformations perpendicular to the director. Interestingly, our empirical model predicts that the LCE will further demonstrate auxetic behavior when stressed at angles between 54° and 90° to the director. Our approach could be extended to any LCE; so it represents a significant step forward toward models that would aid the further development of LCE theory and the design and modeling of LCE‐based technologies. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019, 57, 1367–1377
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
Keywords: | anisotropic elasticity; empirical model; liquid crystal elastomer; mechanical properties; nonlinear elasticity |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Soft Matter Physics (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 06 Sep 2019 10:38 |
Last Modified: | 30 May 2023 22:33 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/polb.24879 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:150500 |