title: Surface and bulk contributions to nematic order reconstruction.
abstract: Nematic molecules confined in an asymmetric π cell and subjected to strong electric fields exhibit textural distortions involving nematic order variations, described by the Landau-de Gennes Q-tensor theory. We investigated the evolution of order variations as function of the applied electric pulse amplitude and of the nematic surface pretilt anchoring angles by implementing a Q-tensor model with a moving mesh finite element method. The proposed technique is able to clearly distinguish the bulk and the surface order reconstruction which occur in the cell.
authors.affiliation: Mechanics and Materials Department, Università "Mediterranea" di Reggio Calabria, I-89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy. antonino.amoddeo@unirc.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amoddeo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barberi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lombardo
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular