Uchida N
Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606, Japan.
Phys Rev E Stat Phys Plasmas Fluids Relat Interdiscip Topics. 1999 Jul;60(1):R13-6. doi: 10.1103/physreve.60.r13.
Elastic effects in a model of disordered nematic elastomers are numerically investigated in two dimensions. Networks crosslinked in the isotropic phase exhibit an unusual soft mechanical response against stretching. It arises from a gradual alignment of orientationally correlated regions that are elongated along the director. A sharp crossover to a macroscopically aligned state is obtained on further stretching. The effect of random internal stress is also discussed.
