Tube Model for the Elasticity of Entangled Nematic Rubbers (ps.gz)

Samuel Kutter and Eugene M. Terentjev
cond-mat/0106193 , submitted to Eur. Phys. J. E 2001.

Dense rubbery networks are highly entangled polymer systems, with significant topological restrictions for the mobility of neighbouring chains and crosslinks preventing the reptation constraint release. In a mean field approach, entanglements are treated within the famous reptation approach, since they effectively confine each individual chain in a tube-like geometry. We apply the classical ideas of reptation dynamics to calculate the effective rubber-elastic free energy of anisotropic networks, nematic liquid crystal elastomers, and present the first theory of entanglements for such a material.