Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Soft-elasticity in monodomain liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) is promising for impact-absorbing applications where strain energy is ideally absorbed at constant stress. Conventionally, compressive and impact studies on LCEs have not been performed given the notorious difficulty synthesizing sufficiently large monodomain devices. Here, we use direct-ink writing 3D printing to fabricate bulk (>cm 3 ) monodomain LCE devices and study their compressive soft-elasticity over 8 decades of strain rate. At quasi-static rates, the monodomain soft-elastic LCE dissipated 45% of strain energy while comparator materials dissipated less than 20%. At strain rates up to 3000 s −1 , our soft-elastic monodomain LCE consistently performed closest to an ideal-impact absorber. Drop testing reveals soft-elasticity as a likely mechanism for effectively reducing the severity of impacts – with soft elastic LCEs offering a Gadd Severity Index 40% lower than a comparable isotropic elastomer. Lastly, we demonstrate tailoring deformation and buckling behavior in monodomain LCEs via the printed director orientation.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,560
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Leverhulme Trust, National Nuclear Security Administration, Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation, Laboratory Directed Research and Development, Army Research Office, Sandia National Laboratories, Army Research Laboratory
Awards: G11630931, G1859920734, G1875710593, G2010024647, G2214935549, G3387330441, G3875057609, G413247060, G4157406980, G4599569132, G4903105778, G5339743583, CAREER: Mechanics of Active Polymers with Dynamic Molecular Bonding, CAREER: A Two-Stage Processing Approach to Shape-Switching Liquid-Crystalline Elastomers for Biomedical Applications, G6254485365, G6526374922, G6671297155, G70797072, G7774815700, G808250967, G8178004050, G855168022
OpenAlex ID: W3169347274