Band structures in the nematic elastomers phononic crystals

As one kind of new intelligent materials, nematic elastomers (NEs) represent an exciting physical system that combines the local orientational symmetry breaking and the entropic rubber elasticity, producing a number of unique physical phenomena. In this paper, the potential application of NEs in the band tuning is explored. The band structures in two kinds of NE phononic crystals (PCs) are investigated. Through changing NE intrinsic parameters, the influence of the porosity, director rotation and relaxation on the band structures in NE PCs are analyzed. This work is a meaningful try for application of NEs in acoustic field and proposes a new intelligent strategy in band turning.