Small Surface Pretilt Strikingly Affects the Director Profile during Poiseuille Flow of a Nematic Liquid Crystal

C. J. Holmes, S. L. Cornford, and J. R. Sambles
Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 248301 – Published 14 June 2010

Abstract

Conventional nematic liquid crystal cells are fabricated with small surface pretilt of the director induced by rubbed polymer alignment. Depending on the orientation of the bounding surfaces, this may lead to two slightly different untwisted director configurations, splay and parallel. This small difference leads to remarkably different director profiles during pressure-driven flow, observed here using optical conoscopy. Data show excellent agreement with numerical modeling from Leslie-Ericksen-Parodi theory.

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  • Received 1 February 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.248301

©2010 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

C. J. Holmes1,*, S. L. Cornford2, and J. R. Sambles1

  • 1School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QL, United Kingdom
  • 2School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol, BS8 1SS, United Kingdom

  • *c.holmes@ex.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 104, Iss. 24 — 18 June 2010

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