Abstract
We formulate and analyse a model describing the combined effect of mechanical deformation, dynamics of the nematic order parameter, and concentration inhomogeneities in an elastomeric mixture of a mesogenic and an isotropic component. The uniform nematic state may exhibit a long-wave instability corresponding to nematic-isotropic demixing. Numerical simulations starting from either a perfectly ordered nematic state or a quenched isotropic state show that coupling between the mesogen concentration and the nematic order parameter influences the shape and orientation of the domains formed during the demixing process.
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Köpf, M.H., Pismen, L.M. Phase separation and disorder in doped nematic elastomers. Eur. Phys. J. E 36, 121 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2013-13121-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2013-13121-1