Fig. 2: Master Curves of LCE materials.
From: Impact damping and vibration attenuation in nematic liquid crystal elastomers
a The tensile storage modulus E′(ω) for LCE10 and LCE40 materials, obtained by time–temperature superposition of frequency-scan tests at different temperatures (labelled in the plot) with the frequency scaled for the reference T = 20 °C. The nematic transition TNI for both materials is between 50 and 70 °C and indicates the end of dynamic softness (the isotropic rubber modulus increases on heating). b The corresponding Master Curve of the loss factor tan δ for LCE10, with the frequency scaled for the same reference T = 20 °C. Unlike the storage modulus E′, whose magnitude at high temperatures is affected by the nematic-isotropic phase transition and the entropic rubber elasticity, the time–temperature superposition for the loss factor works well at this high-temperature/low-frequency region.
