Simulation-based design of thermally-driven actuators using liquid crystal elastomers

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are a class of soft functional materials which exhibit complex mechanical responses to external stimuli. Their promise for technological applications is difficult to realise in practice due to the complexity of design, fabrication and performance quantification of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Liquid crystals 2018-05, Vol.45 (7), p.1010-1022
Main Authors: Neufeld, Ryan Alexander Epp, Shahsavan, Hamed, Zhao, Boxin, Abukhdeir, Nasser Mohieddin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
actuators
Complexity
Computer simulation
Crosslinking
Design
Design parameters
Elastomers
Experimentation
Fabrication
functional materials
Liquid crystal elastomers
Liquid crystals
Simulation
Solid mechanics
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Summary:Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are a class of soft functional materials which exhibit complex mechanical responses to external stimuli. Their promise for technological applications is difficult to realise in practice due to the complexity of design, fabrication and performance quantification of these materials. In order to address these issues, simulation-based methods are necessary to both enhance and accelerate the design process, compared to traditional experimentation alone. This work presents such an approach using a hyperelastic solid mechanics model and experimental measurement of material parameters for a thermotropic LCE. The simulation method is validated using existing experimental data of the thermomechanical response of an LCE-based cantilever resulting from a hybrid-aligned nematic texture imposed during crosslinking. The validated method is then used to perform a proof-of-concept design process of an LCE multilegged gripper in order to determine optimal design parameters for gripper performance. The simulation method and results presented in this work represent a significant step towards simulation-based design of LCE materials, which has the potential to overcome the complexity and cost of the LCE design process.
ISSN:0267-8292
1366-5855
DOI:10.1080/02678292.2017.1404152