Mechanically induced Helfrich-Hurault effect in lamellar systems

Layered phases are a common pattern of self-organization for several soft materials. These phases undergo buckling instability when subjected to dilatative strain: beyond a critical threshold, layers, initially flat, exhibit a periodical undulation. By using a continuum model, in a finite deformation framework, an expression for the critical threshold is provided, which differs from that predicted by the Helfrich-Hurault theory and yet it reverts to it in a thick specimen limit. With respect to the relevant literature, an analogous disagreement is found in the undulation amplitude expression as well. The obtained results appear particularly relevant when dealing with layered materials whose intrinsic coherence length is comparable to the cell thickness.