Finsler geometry modeling and Monte Carlo study of liquid crystal elastomers under electric fields

The shape transformation of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) under external electric fields is studied through Monte Carlo simulations of models constructed on the basis of Finsler geometry (FG). For polydomain side-chain-type LCEs, it is well known that the external-field-driven alignment of the director is accompanied by an anisotropic shape deformation. However, the mechanism of this deformation is quantitatively still unclear in some part and should be studied further from the microscopic perspective. In this paper, we evaluate whether this shape deformation is successfully simulated, or in other words, quantitatively understood, by the FG model. The FG assumed inside the material is closely connected to the directional degrees of freedom of LC molecules and plays an essential role in the anisotropic transformation. We find that the existing experimental data on the deformations of polydomain LCEs are in good agreement with the Monte Carlo results. It is also found that experimental diagrams of strain versus external voltage of a monodomain LCE in the nematic phase are well described by the FG model.