Multiaxial Finite Strain Behavior of Polydomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Multiaxial Finite Strain Behavior of Polydomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Multiaxial Finite Strain Behavior of Polydomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers Mohammad Ali Safaei, Mahdi Askari-Sedeh, Majid Baniassadi, Mostafa Baghani This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9517724/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) represent a class of stimuli-responsive polymers that combine the order-dependent properties of liquid crystal mesogens with the soft elasticity of polymer networks. Apart from some benchmark loading scenarios such as uniaxial loading tests, the literature lacks a theoretical framework addressing the response of LCEs under complex, multiaxial loading. For this purpose, this study investigates the stress response of polydomain LCE cylinders and balloons under loading cases including pure extension–torsion, inflation, and extension–torsion–inflation. To do so, a robust analytical framework was developed by assuming polydomain LCEs to be isotropic hyperelastic materials in order to alleviate the need for step-length tensors and anisotropy parameters in purely mechanical loadings. The analytical framework was validated using finite element method (FEM) results, revealing excellent agreement between predictions. To assess the stress response of the hyperelastic LCEs considered, the analytical framework employed three different forms of the strain energy function, namely Mooney–Rivlin, Yeoh, and Anssari-Benam. Among them, the Yeoh and Anssari-Benam models were capable of capturing inherent strain-softening and large-deformation effects in LCEs across a wide range of stretch values. This study also shows that strain energy functions of binomial form, such as Anssari-Benam, provide the most accurate predictions for all stress components. As practical considerations, the study derived the blocking force and the resultant longitudinal torque responses of polydomain LCEs, and illustrated the through-thickness instability phenomenon occurring in LCE balloons with respect to different geometric factors. These results offer a straightforward pathway for the analysis and design of polydomain LCEs that are mainly deployed as soft actuators and peristaltic pumps. Mechanical Engineering Applied Mathematics Polydomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers Thick-walled Structures Large Deformations Multiaxial Loading Soft Actuators Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9517724","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629043087,"identity":"d159168c-bba3-49fb-9cdc-db8b69eb83b9","order_by":0,"name":"Mohammad Ali Safaei","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohammad","middleName":"Ali","lastName":"Safaei","suffix":""},{"id":629043090,"identity":"6ec0eeff-76c4-4094-8edd-e757bdb18973","order_by":1,"name":"Mahdi 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Apart from some benchmark loading scenarios such as uniaxial loading tests, the literature lacks a theoretical framework addressing the response of LCEs under complex, multiaxial loading. For this purpose, this study investigates the stress response of polydomain LCE cylinders and balloons under loading cases including pure extension–torsion, inflation, and extension–torsion–inflation. To do so, a robust analytical framework was developed by assuming polydomain LCEs to be isotropic hyperelastic materials in order to alleviate the need for step-length tensors and anisotropy parameters in purely mechanical loadings. The analytical framework was validated using finite element method (FEM) results, revealing excellent agreement between predictions. To assess the stress response of the hyperelastic LCEs considered, the analytical framework employed three different forms of the strain energy function, namely Mooney–Rivlin, Yeoh, and Anssari-Benam. Among them, the Yeoh and Anssari-Benam models were capable of capturing inherent strain-softening and large-deformation effects in LCEs across a wide range of stretch values. This study also shows that strain energy functions of binomial form, such as Anssari-Benam, provide the most accurate predictions for all stress components. As practical considerations, the study derived the blocking force and the resultant longitudinal torque responses of polydomain LCEs, and illustrated the through-thickness instability phenomenon occurring in LCE balloons with respect to different geometric factors. 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