{"597904":{"#nid":"597904","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Modeling Liquid Crystal Elastomers: from Auto-Origami to Light-Driven Autonomous Soft Robotics","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch3\u003ESchool of Physics Soft Condensed Matter \u0026amp; Physics of Living Systems Seminar: Prof.\u0026nbsp;Robin Selinger, Kent State University\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELiquid crystal elastomers combine the orientational order of liquid crystals with the elasticity of polymers.\u0026nbsp;Remarkably, these materials flex and deform under stimuli such as a change of temperature, and undergo autonomous folding, or \u0026quot;auto-origami,\u0026quot; into complex shapes.\u0026nbsp;The material\u0026#39;s liquid crystal director field defines the local axis of extension\/contraction, and can be patterned, or \u0026quot;blueprinted,\u0026quot; to induce a programmed shape transformation. \u0026nbsp;Incorporation of photoactive azobenzene makes these materials move in response to illumination.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWe model the dynamics of these shape transformations using finite element elastodynamics, examining director fields incorporating twist, splay, and high-order topological defects.\u0026nbsp;We also model the generation of light-driven mechanical wave motion in a photoactive liquid crystal polymer film [1], in collaboration with the Broer experimental group at TU Eindhoven.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOur simulations demonstrate the mechanism that produces continuous, directional, macroscopic mechanical waves under constant light illumination, with a feedback loop driven by self-shadowing. Potential applications include autonomous light-driven locomotion and self-cleaning surfaces.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Work supported by NSF-DMR 1409658,\u0026nbsp;NSF-CMMI 1436565, and\u0026nbsp;NSF-CMMI 1663041.\u0026nbsp;[1] Anne Helene Gelebart, Dirk Jan Mulder, Michael Varga, Andrew Konya, Ghislaine Vantomme, E. W. Meijer, Robin L. B. Selinger, and \u0026nbsp;Dirk J. Broer, \u0026quot;Making waves in a photoactive polymer film,\u0026quot; Nature v. 546, p. 632, 29 JUNE 2017.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Modeling Liquid Crystal Elastomers: from Auto-Origami to Light-Driven Autonomous Soft Robotics"}],"uid":"30957","created_gmt":"2017-10-26 18:48:12","changed_gmt":"2017-10-26 18:52:32","author":"Shaun Ashley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2017-11-07T15:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2017-11-07T16:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2017-11-07T16:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2017-11-07 20:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2017-11-07 21:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2017-11-07 21:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"960","name":"physics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003Eshaun.ashley@physics.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}