STUDY OF THERMOMECHANICAL EFFECTS OF MAIN CHAIN LIQUID CRYSTAL ELASTOMER AS FUNCTION OF CROSSLINKER CONCENTRATION

Thermomechanical effects of dryMain Chain Liquid Crystal Elastomer (MCLCE) with the different concentration of crosslinker 8%, 12%, 14% and 16% have been studied. Length of MCLCE monotonically shrinks parallel to the director, while it expands perpendicularly to the director, with a somewhat faster change at nematic isotropic transition phase, Tni. The result of the investigation showed that the value of maximum contraction is greater and faster than maximum expansion. Keywords: Main Chain Liquid Crystal Elastomers (MCLCE), Thermomechanical effects, Function ofcrosslinker concentration