Response of constrained glassy splay-bend and twist nematic sheets to light and heat.

A general approach is proposed to analyze the complex photo- or thermo-response of glassy splay-bend and twist nematic sheets with boundary constraints. The governing equations are two-dimensional, as in the classical plate theory. However, the solution can generate exact three-dimensional displacement and stress distributions within the interior of the sheets, except the boundary layer whose width is of the same order of the sheet thickness.