Abstract
Parallel to the highly successful Ericksen-Leslie hydrodynamic theory for the bulk behavior of nematic liquid crystals (NLCs), we derive a set of coupled hydrodynamic boundary conditions to describe the NLC dynamics near NLC-solid interfaces. In our boundary conditions, translational flux (flow slippage) and rotational flux (surface director relaxation) are coupled according to the Onsager variational principle of least energy dissipation. The application of our boundary conditions to the truly bistable π -twist NLC cell reveals a complete picture of the dynamic switching processes. It is found that the thus far overlooked translation-rotation dissipative coupling at solid surfaces can accelerate surface director relaxation and enhance the flow rate. This can be utilized to improve the performance of electro-optical nematic devices by lowering the required switching voltages and reducing the switching times. © 2008 The American Physical Society.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Physical Review E |
| Volume | 78 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 8 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledgements: This work was supported by Hong Kong RGC Grant No. CA05/06.SC01. A. F. acknowledges support from the KAUST Global Research Partnership. T. Q. was also supported by Hong Kong RGC Grant No. 602007.
This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.