Mechanical deformations of a liquid crystal elastomer at director angles between 0° and 90°: Deducing an empirical model encompassing anisotropic nonlinearity

• Published in: Journal of polymer science. Part B, Polymer physics Vol. 57; no. 20; pp. 1367 - 1377
• Main Authors: Mistry, Devesh, Gleeson, Helen F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 15.10.2019; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: anisotropic elasticity; Anisotropy; Deformation; Elastomers; empirical model; liquid crystal elastomer; Liquid crystals; Mechanical analysis; Mechanical properties; nonlinear elasticity; Nonlinearity; Polymer physics; Rotating liquids; Strain; Tensile tests

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 tensi...