Abstract
The mechanical properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are investigated to elucidate their fundamental microstructural and mechanistic underpinnings, and overall structural integrity under deformation. High strain-rate loading experiments and quasistatic compression tests on PDLC materials reveal an amplified strain-rate dependence relative to the matrix material. A finite-element micromechanical model of PDLC materials explains this behavior in terms of strain-rate concentrations at the equators of the spherical liquid-crystal droplets. The model also predicts a weak dependence of the aspect ratio of deforming liquid-crystal droplets on their volume fraction.
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