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Abstract
The equations governing the macroscopic flow behaviour of smectic C and smectic C* liquid crystals are written down and it is demonstrated that the viscoelastic behaviour of these systems demands 20 viscous coefficients and 9 elastic constants for a complete treatment. With the smectic C stress tensor as a starting point, different aspects of the flow behaviour of the system are treated. Among the topics discussed are the concepts of torques and countertorques in smectic C and smectic C* liquid crystals as well as flow alignment in shear and backflow effects in the switching dynamics of a surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal cell.