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Tunable wrinkling of thin nematic liquid crystal elastomer sheets
Madison S Krieger1, Marcelo A Dias2,3
1Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Physical Review. E
|October 3, 2019
Summary
Nematic liquid crystal elastomers can form wrinkles when compressed. Their wrinkle wavelength and critical stress depend on material properties and preparation, offering new control over instabilities in elastic sheets.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Mechanics of Materials
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Instabilities like wrinkles in thin elastic sheets are fundamental and have engineering applications.
- Nematic liquid crystal elastomers (NLCEs) offer novel control over instabilities via coupled molecular order and macroscopic strain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a plate theory for thin NLCE sheets.
- To investigate wrinkle formation in NLCEs under compression on substrates.
- To determine the scaling laws for wrinkle wavelength and critical stress.
Main Methods:
- Dimensional reduction to construct a plate theory for NLCEs.
- Theoretical analysis of wrinkle formation under compressive strain.
- Investigation of material parameters and substrate effects.
Main Results:
- Derived a scaling law for wrinkle wavelength based on material parameters and compression.
- Observed a non-monotonic dependence of wrinkle wavelength on compressive strain due to nematic effects.
- Found that soft modes can significantly increase critical stress for wrinkling, with dependence on elastomer preparation.
Conclusions:
- NLCEs exhibit unique wrinkling behaviors distinct from isotropic elastomers.
- The study provides a theoretical framework for understanding and controlling instabilities in NLCEs.
- Findings have implications for designing advanced materials with tunable mechanical properties.
