Measuring the five elastic constants of a nematic liquid crystal elastomer

Abstract

The determination of the mechanical properties of materials is important for the creation of physical models and describing mechanisms for converting diverse stimuli into mechanical response. It is critical for the design of nanoscale transducers, sensors, and actuators such as motors, pumps, artificial muscles and medical microrobots. This paper reports the measurement of the five independent elastic constants of a transversely isotropic liquid crystal elastomer. We express the elastic constants EL, ET, G12, k12, and G23 in terms of strains and stresses, then measure these and determine the moduli for three different nematic elastomer samples.

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