The simple shear flow induced deformations of the flow- aligning nematic are modeled numerically. The director distributions in the sheared layer are calculated for various surface orientations. The director coming out of the shear plane, which has been predicted earlier, is confirmed. The results show, that the coming out of the shear plane should not be treated as a separate effect appearing during the flow, but rather as a way, in which the usual flow aligned structure is achieved. This way is realized, when peculiar boundary conditions are imposed and when the relatively small twist elastic constant makes it energetically preferable.

Date Published: 1 February 1998
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 3318, Liquid Crystals: Physics, Technology, and Applications, (1 February 1998); doi: 10.1117/12.299991

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3318:
Liquid Crystals: Physics, Technology, and Applications
Jolanta Rutkowska; Stanislaw J. Klosowicz; Jerzy Zielinski; Jozef Zmija, Editor(s)