Torsional Shear Flow of Nematic and Cholesteric Liquid Crystals. Part I: Nematic Phase

1979 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 818-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wahl

The simple shear flow of a homeotropic nematic layer in an electric field normal to the layer is studied theoretically and experimentally. Several material constants of MBBA are determined as a function of temperature.

2009 ◽  
Vol 626 ◽  
pp. 367-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEFAN MÄHLMANN ◽  
DEMETRIOS T. PAPAGEORGIOU

The effect of an electric field on a periodic array of two-dimensional liquid drops suspended in simple shear flow is studied numerically. The shear is produced by moving the parallel walls of the channel containing the fluids at equal speeds but in opposite directions and an electric field is generated by imposing a constant voltage difference across the channel walls. The level set method is adapted to electrohydrodynamics problems that include a background flow in order to compute the effects of permittivity and conductivity differences between the two phases on the dynamics and drop configurations. The electric field introduces additional interfacial stresses at the drop interface and we perform extensive computations to assess the combined effects of electric fields, surface tension and inertia. Our computations for perfect dielectric systems indicate that the electric field increases the drop deformation to generate elongated drops at steady state, and at the same time alters the drop orientation by increasing alignment with the vertical, which is the direction of the underlying electric field. These phenomena are observed for a range of values of Reynolds and capillary numbers. Computations using the leaky dielectric model also indicate that for certain combinations of electric properties the drop can undergo enhanced alignment with the vertical or the horizontal, as compared to perfect dielectric systems. For cases of enhanced elongation and alignment with the vertical, the flow positions the droplets closer to the channel walls where they cause larger wall shear stresses. We also establish that a sufficiently strong electric field can be used to destabilize the flow in the sense that steady-state droplets that can exist in its absence for a set of physical parameters, become increasingly and indefinitely elongated until additional mechanisms can lead to rupture. It is suggested that electric fields can be used to enhance such phenomena.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (24) ◽  
pp. 5273 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. García-Ortiz ◽  
Samir Sadek ◽  
Francisco Galindo-Rosales

Uniaxial extensional flow is a canonical flow typically used in rheological characterization to provide complementary information to that obtained by imposing simple shear flow. In spite of the importance of having a full rheological characterization of complex fluids, publications on the rheological characterization of mobile liquids under extensional flow have increased significantly only in the last 20 years. In the case of the rheological characterization of electrorheological fluids, the situation is even more dramatic, as the ERFs have been exclusively determined under simple shear flow, where an electrorheological cell is attached to the rotational rheometer generating an electric field perpendicular to the flow direction and that does not allow for inverting the polarity. The very recent work published by Sadek et al., who developed a new electrorheological cell to be used with the commercial Capillary Breakup Extensional Rheometer (CaBER), allows for the very first time performing electrorheometry under extensional flow. By means of the same experimental setup, this study investigates the influence of the polarity of the imposed electric field on the filament thinning process of a Newtonian and an electrorheological fluid. Results show that a polarity against the gravity results in filament thinning processes that live longer or reach a stable configuration at lower intensities of the applied electric field.


Author(s):  
Tobias Merkel ◽  
Julius Henne ◽  
Lena Hecht ◽  
Volker Gräf ◽  
Elke Walz ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document