University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Disclination in a homogeneously deformed nematic elastomer

Fried, Eliot; Roy, Bidhan C.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/112696

Description

Title
Disclination in a homogeneously deformed nematic elastomer
Author(s)
  • Fried, Eliot
  • Roy, Bidhan C.
Issue Date
2006-07
Keyword(s)
  • Mechanics
  • Engineering
Abstract
We consider a nematic elastomer which has been cross-linked in an isotropic state. As an application, we consider the time-independent, isochoric homogeneous deformation of a right circular cylinder wherein each circular cross-section of the specimen is deformed into an ellipse. We explore the possibility of the existence of disclinations when the molecular conformation is uniaxial. Numerical solution of the governing boundary-value problem indicates the presence of an isotropic core (the disclination core) of material surrounding the cylinder axis in which the polymeric chains are shaped as spherical coils. The isotropic core is bounded by a narrow transition layer across which the molecular conformation changes from spherical to uniaxial. The material thereby becomes a nisotropic away from the disclination. The anisotropic regions show a markedly different distribution for the free energy. This distribution of energy determines the radius of the core to be on the order of 10- 2 μm . T he work is a first step toward gaining an understanding of the existence of defective states in homogenously deformed nematic elastomers.
Publisher
Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. College of Engineering. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Series/Report Name or Number
  • TAM R 1095
  • 2006-6014
ISSN
0073-5264
Type of Resource
text
Language
eng
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/112696
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2006 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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Technical Reports - Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM) PRIMARY
TAM technical reports include manuscripts intended for publication, theses judged to have general interest, notes prepared for short courses, symposia compiled from outstanding undergraduate projects, and reports prepared for research-sponsoring agencies.