Analysis of Converging and Diverging Flow of Nematic Liquid Crystal Polymers

Abstract

A similarity solution of the Leslie-Ericksen equations for nematic liquid crystals is obtained for converging and diverging flow. The director distribution for parameters characteristic of lyotropic liquid crystal polymer solutions shows a boundary layer resulting from interactions between wall- and flow-induced orientations; the boundary layer scaling with Ericksen number differs, depending on whether the interaction is with the shear flow near the wall or the extensional flow near the channel midplane. Imposition of an azimuthal magnetic field causes a first-order Freedericksz-like transition in director orientation at a critical field strength.