Scholarlink

<p>We study spontaneous deformations of a ribbon made of nematic polymer networks and activated under the action of a mechanical load. We show that when such ribbons are activated appropriately, the deformations produced can pull back and perform work against the externally applied load. We perform two numerical experiments to demonstrate this effect: (1) the <i>pulling</i> experiment, where the ribbon is pulled longitudinally by a point force, and (2) the <i>bending</i> experiment, where the ribbon is bent out of plane by a terminally applied point force. We quantify the capacity of the ribbon to work against external loads, and compute its dependence on both the ribbon thickness and the imprinted nematic texture (that is, the distribution of the nematic directors across the ribbon’s length). Finally, we compute the efficiency of the activation process. Building on the outcomes of our numerical explorations, we formulate two educated conjectures on how the activation efficiency can in general be improved by acting on both the applied load and the imprinted nematic texture.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Work and Activation in a Nematic Polymer Network Ribbon

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年5月27日

查看全文
  • Harmeet Singh,
  • Krishnan Suryanarayanan,
  • Epifanio G. Virga

摘要

We study spontaneous deformations of a ribbon made of nematic polymer networks and activated under the action of a mechanical load. We show that when such ribbons are activated appropriately, the deformations produced can pull back and perform work against the externally applied load. We perform two numerical experiments to demonstrate this effect: (1) the pulling experiment, where the ribbon is pulled longitudinally by a point force, and (2) the bending experiment, where the ribbon is bent out of plane by a terminally applied point force. We quantify the capacity of the ribbon to work against external loads, and compute its dependence on both the ribbon thickness and the imprinted nematic texture (that is, the distribution of the nematic directors across the ribbon’s length). Finally, we compute the efficiency of the activation process. Building on the outcomes of our numerical explorations, we formulate two educated conjectures on how the activation efficiency can in general be improved by acting on both the applied load and the imprinted nematic texture.