Journal
POLYMER
Volume 98, Issue -, Pages 165-171Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2016.06.022
Keywords
Liquid crystal elastomers; Soft elasticity; Polydomain; Monodomain; Viscoelasticity
Categories
Funding
- Directorate For Engineering
- Div Of Civil, Mechanical, & Manufact Inn [1130358, 1350436] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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The goal of this study was to explore the rate-dependent behavior of the stretch-induced polydomain-monodomain (PM) transition of a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE). The main-chain LCE was synthesized and then cross-linked in the nematic polydomain state. The PM transition caused a soft-elastic behavior, which was measured using uniaxial tensile tests at multiple strain rates and temperatures. The main finding was that we were able to apply the temperature-dependent shift factor determined for the small strain behavior and in the frequency domain to create master curves for the large-strain response in the strain rate domain. The soft elasticity phenomenon was absent from the stress-strain curve at equilibrium. The results also suggest that the relaxation mechanisms of the network, and not of the mesogen orientation, dominate the rate-dependent behavior. Finally, we observed a relatively slow recovery behavior, suggesting the presence of an additional slow relaxation mechanism. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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