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Title: Lattice Boltzmann simulation of asymmetric flow in nematic liquid crystals with finite anchoring

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4940342· OSTI ID:1351106
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
  2. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  3. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Liquid crystals (LCs) display many of the flow characteristics of liquids but exhibit long range orientational order. In the nematic phase, the coupling of structure and flow leads to complex hydrodynamic effects that remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we consider the hydrodynamics of a nematic LC in a hybrid cell, where opposite walls have conflicting anchoring boundary conditions, and we employ a 3D lattice Boltzmann method to simulate the time-dependent flow patterns that can arise. Due to the symmetry breaking of the director field within the hybrid cell, we observe that at low to moderate shear rates, the volumetric flow rate under Couette and Poiseuille flows is different for opposite flow directions. At high shear rates, the director field may undergo a topological transition which leads to symmetric flows. Here, by applying an oscillatory pressure gradient to the channel, a net volumetric flow rate is found to depend on the magnitude and frequency of the oscillation, as well as the anchoring strength. Taken together, our findings suggest several intriguing new applications for LCs in microfluidic devices.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; DMR-1410674
OSTI ID:
1351106
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 144, Issue 8; ISSN 0021-9606
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 28 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Multiparticle Collision Dynamics for Tensorial Nematodynamics text January 2019
Sculpting stable structures in pure liquids journal February 2019
Interplay of structure, elasticity, and dynamics in actin-based nematic materials journal December 2017
Tunable structure and dynamics of active liquid crystals text January 2018
Dynamic structure of active nematic shells journal November 2016
Field generated nematic microflows via backflow mechanism journal January 2020
Tunable structure and dynamics of active liquid crystals journal October 2018
Mesoscale martensitic transformation in single crystals of topological defects journal September 2017
Interplay of Structure, Elasticity and Dynamics in Actin-Based Nematic Materials text January 2017
Effect of the anchoring strength on the phase behaviour of discotic liquid crystals under face-on confinement journal January 2019
Multiparticle collision dynamics for tensorial nematodynamics journal June 2019
Water Flux Induced Reorientation of Liquid Crystals journal November 2017