title: Modeling mechanochromatic lamellar gels.
abstract: Consisting of alternating swelling and nonswelling polymeric layers (SLs and NLs), lamellar gels are one-dimensional photonic crystals with mechanically tunable optical properties. The lamellar structure induces a constraint between the SLs and the NLs, resulting in a highly anisotropic swelling behavior that is coupled with deformation. The coupling gives rise to the mechanochromatic effect, i.e., the color change in the material in response to mechanical deformations. A quantitative understanding of the coupling behavior is the key to many applications. This paper formulates a nonlinear continuum model for lamellar gels by considering the constrained swelling and anisotropic deformation in both layers. A finite-element method is further developed to simulate the mechanochromatic response of a lamellar gel undergoing a nonuniform field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA. whong@iastate.edu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D006244:Hardness; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012031:Refractometry
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D011108:Polymers