Influence of the flow on the orientational dynamics induced by temperature gradient in nematic hybrid-oriented cells.
The numerical study of the system of hydrodynamic equations that include the director motion, fluid flow, and the temperature field redistribution across the hybrid-oriented liquid crystal (LC) cell under influence of the temperature gradient has been investigated. Calculations show that the horizontal LC layer being initially in the rest, if heated both from below or above, due to the temperature gradient, starts moving in the horizontal direction. It has been shown that the magnitude and direction of the hydrodynamic flow, excited by the temperature gradient, influence both the direction of the heat flow and the character of the preferred anchoring of the average molecular direction to the restricted surfaces. The role of the hydrodynamic flow in the relaxation processes, for a number of dynamic regime in 4-n-pentyl-4(')-cyanobiphenyl hybrid-oriented LC cell, also has been investigated.
Zakharov
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AV
Saint Petersburg Institute for Machine Sciences, The Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg 199178, Russia. alexandre.zakharov@fys.kuleuven.ac.be
Vakulenko
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AA