Related papers: Shape and Chirality Transitions in Off-Axis Twist …
I demonstrate a directional motion-transmission behavior of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using atomistic simulations. The network of overlapping $\pi$ orbitals at the interface act as gear teeth to translate the sliding motion of a CNT…
Models of smectic-C liquid crystal elastomers predict that it can display soft elasticity, in which the shape of the elastomer changes at no energy cost. The amplitude of the soft mode and the accompanying shears are dependent on the…
Homeotropic Nematic Liquid Crystal heated from above present convective Rayleigh-Benard instability for applied thermal gradients greater than $\Delta$Tc. This threshold increase with the intensity of applied external magnetic field…
Understanding nanomechanical response of materials represents a scientific challenge. Here, we have used in-situ electron microscopy to reveal drastic for the first time changes of structural behavior during deformation of 1-nm-wide metal…
The macroscopic shape of liquid crystalline elastomers strongly depends on the order parameter of the mesogenic groups. This order can be manipulated if photoisomerisable groups, e.g. containing N=N bonds, are introduced into the material.…
As we enter the age of designer matter - where objects can morph and change shape on command - what tools do we need to create shape-shifting structures? At the heart of an elastic deformation is the combination of dilation and distortion,…
We study the equilibria of a photoresponsive nematic elastomer ribbon within a continuum theory that builds upon the statistical mechanics model put forward by Corbett and Warner [Phys. Rev. E 78, 061701 (2008)]. We prove that the…
In liquid-crystalline elastomers, the nematic order parameter and the induced strain vary smoothly across the isotropic-nematic transition, without the expected first-order discontinuity. To investigate this smooth variation, we measure the…
Chirality is ubiquitous in nature and plays crucial roles in biology, medicine, physics and materials science. Understanding and controlling chirality is therefore an important research challenge with broad implications in fundamental and…
A simple mechanism of controllable switching of magnetic vortex chirality is proposed. We consider curvilinear magnetic nanoshells of spherical geometry whose ground state is a vortex magnetization distribution. Chirality of this magnetic…
A coarse-grained molecular dynamics model of linear polyethylene-like polymer chain system was built to investigate the responds of structure and mechanical properties during uniaxial deformation. The influence of chain length, temperature,…
Nematic tactoids are spindle-shaped droplets of a nematic phase nucleated in the co-existing isotropic phase. According to equilibrium theory, their internal structure and shape are controlled by a balance between the elastic deformation of…
There is considerable interest in understanding and controlling topological defects in nematic liquid crystals (LCs). Confinement, in the form of droplets, has been particularly effective in that regard. Here, we employ the Landau-de Gennes…
An elastomer swelling actuator deforms by absorbing a fluid, thus generating mechanical movement. We show that depositing small droplets of low molecular weight liquid crystal on liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) films leads to shape changes…
Two dimensional magnetic films with perpendicular magnetization spontaneously form magnetic domain patterns that evolve or undergo symmetry transformations as a function of temperature. When the system is driven from equilibrium by a rapid…
We present an analytical study of bent twisted ribbons. We first describe the elastic response of a ribbon within a purely mechanical framework. We then study the role of thermal fluctuations in modifying its elastic response. We predict…
The elastic behavior of materials operating in the linear regime is constrained, by definition, to operations that are linear in the imposed deformation. Though the nonlinear regime holds promise for new functionality, the design in this…
We study the spontaneous out-of-plane bending of a planar untwisted ribbon composed of nematic polymer networks activated by a change in temperature. Our theory accounts for both stretching and bending energies, which compete to establish…
We aimed to use finite element method to simulate the unique behaviors of liquid crystal elastomer, such as semi-soft elasticity, stripe domain instabilities etc. We started from an energy functional with the 2D Bladon-Warner-Terentjev…
We introduce a model for the real-time evolution of a relativistic fluid of quarks coupled to non-equilibrium dynamics of the long wavelength (classical) modes of the chiral condensate. We solve the equations of motion numerically in 3+1…