Abstract
Formation of stripe-domains has often been observed in nematic elastomers, starting from the pioneering work of Finkelmann and coworkers. One of the possible interpretations of this phenomenon is to view it as a material instability driven by energy minimization. This approach, first proposed by Warner and Terentjev, has been quite helpful in the analysis of stretching experiments of thin sheets, and in the modelling of soft elasticity associated with stripe-domain formation. Recently, complex stripe-domain patterns have been observed in nematic gels undergoing the isotropictonematic transition while being confined by two glass plates. We suggest that, once again, energy minimization can be seen as the driving mechanism for the formation of the observed patterns.
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Desimone, A., Dolzmann, G. (2005). Stripe-Domains in Nematic Elastomers: OLD and New. In: Calderer, MC.T., Terentjev, E.M. (eds) Modeling of Soft Matter. The IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications, vol 141. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-32153-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-32153-5_8
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
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