Anisotropic mechanical behavior of 3D printed liquid crystal elastomer

Additive manufacturing using liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) has recently been explored for fabricating structures with stimuli-responsiveness and tunable mechanical behavior. Such structures show promising potential in the fields of soft robotics, haptic devices, and energy-absorbing materials. Herein, we study the processing-structure-property relationships of LCE sheets printed using direct ink writing (DIW) additive manufacturing. The printed sheets show anisotropic and temperature-dependent mechanical behaviors. We show that by tailoring the liquid crystal orientation patterns, the stress-strain relationship, as well as the strain distribution in the sheets (when subjected to a mechanical load), can be programmed. This work provides foundational material property and processing data for the design of additively manufactured LCE-based devices.