Viscosity coefficients nematics

Six viscosity coefficients required for a description of the dynamics of an incompressible, nematic liquid crystal. 

The molecular theory of Doi [63,166] has been successfully applied to the description of many nonlinear rheological phenomena in PLCs. This theory assumes an un-textured monodomain and describes the molecular scale orientation of rigid rod molecules subject to the combined influence of hydrodynamic and Brownian torques, along with a potential of interaction (a Maier-Saupe potential is used) to account for the tendency for nematic alignment of the molecules. This theory is able to predict shear thinning viscosity, as well as predictions of the Leslie viscosity coefficients used in the LE theory. The original calculations by Doi for this model employed a preaveraging approximation that was later... 

Therefore, switch-off times are independent of the field strength and directly dependent on material parameters, such as viscosity coefficients and elastic constants, and the cell configuration. Therefore, they are often three or four orders of magnitude larger than the switch-on times. However, sophisticated addressing techniques can produce much shorter combined response times ( on + off The nematic director should be inclined, e.g. 1° pretilt,... 

Sarman and Evans [24, 32] performed a comprehensive study of the flow properties of a variant of the Gay-Beme fluid. In order to make the calculations faster the Lennard-Jones core of the Gay-Beme potential was replaced by a 1/r core. This makes the potential more short ranged thereby decreasing the number of interactions and making the simulation faster. The viscosity coefficients were evaluated by EMD Green-Kubo methods both in the conventional canonical ensemble and in the fixed director ensemble. The results were cross checked by shear flow simulations. The studies covered nematic phases of both prolate ellipsoids with a length to width ratio of 3 1 and oblate ellipsoids with a length to width ratio of 1 3. The complete set of potential parameters for these model systems are given in Appendix II. 

D. Baalss and S. Hess, The Viscosity Coefficients of Oriented Nematic and Nematic Discotic Liquid Crystals Affine Transformation Model, Z. Naturforsch. 43a (1988) 662. 

All physical parameters mentioned above are material specific and temperature dependent (for a detailed discussion of the material properties of nematics, see for instance [4]). Nevertheless, some general trends are characteristic for most nematics. With the increase of temperature the absolute values of the anisotropies usually decrease, until they drop to zero at the nematic-isotropic phase transition. The viscosity coefficients decrease with increasing temperature as well, while the electrical conductivities increase. If the substance has a smectic phase at lower temperatures, some pre-transitional effects may be expected already in the nematic phase. One example has already been mentioned when discussing the sign of Ua- Another example is the divergence of the elastic modulus K2 close to the nematic-smecticA transition since the incipient smectic structure with an orientation of the layers perpendicular to n impedes twist deformations. 

We shall now discuss the application of the Ericksen-Leslie theory to some practical problems in viscometry. Probably the first precise determination of the anisotropic viscosity of a nematic liquid crystal was by Miesowicz. He oriented the sample by applying a strong magnetic field and measured the viscosity coefficients in the following three geometries using an oscillating plate viscometer ... 

The viscosity coefficients may also be determined by studying the reflexion of ultrasonic shear waves at a solid-nematic interface. The technique was developed by Martinoty and Candau. A thin film of a nematic liquid crystal is taken on the surface of a fused quartz rod with obliquely cut ends (fig. 3.7.1). A quartz crystal bonded to one of the ends generates a transverse wave. At the solid-nematic interface there is a transmitted wave, which is rapidly attenuated, and a reflected wave which is received at the other end by a second quartz crystal. The reflexion coefficient, obtained by measuring the amplitudes of reflexion with and without the nematic sample, directly yields the effective coefficient of viscosity. 

The hydrodynamic equations of the classical nematic ( 3.1) are applicable to the N, phase as well. There are six viscosity coefficients (or Leslie coefficients) which reduce to five if one assumes Onsager s reciprocal relations. A direct estimate of an effective value of the viscosity of from a director relaxation measurement indicates that its magnitude is much higher than the corresponding value for the usual nematic. 

A number of important ideas concerning the N, phase have been discussed theoretically - molecular statistical and phenomenological theories, " " continuum theories, " topological theories of de-fects, - " etc. For example, Saupe and Kini " who used different theoretical approaches, have both concluded that the incompressible orthorhombic nematic has 12 curvature elastic constants (excluding three which contribute only to the surface torque) and 12 viscosity coefficients. 

In equations (5)-(8), i is the molecule s moment of Inertia, v the flow velocity, K is the appropriate elastic constant, e the dielectric anisotropy, 8 is the angle between the optical field and the nematic liquid crystal director axis y the viscosity coefficient, the tensorial order parameter (for isotropic phase), the optical electric field, T the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature, S the order parameter (for liquid-crystal phase), the thermal conductivity, a the absorption constant, pj the density, C the specific heat, B the bulk modulus, v, the velocity of sound, y the electrostrictive coefficient. Table 1 summarizes these optical nonlinearities, their magnitudes and typical relaxation time constants. Also included in Table 1 is the extraordinary large optical nonlinearity we recently observed in excited dye-molecules doped liquid... 

Pashkovskii, E. E., and Litvina, T. G., Twist viscosity coefficient of a dilute solution of the main-chain mesogenic polymer in a nematic solvent an estimation of the anisotropy and the rotational relaxation time of polymer chains, J. Phys. II, 2, 521-528 (1992a). 

With the Miesowicz technique one can measure three combinations of the Leslie viscosity coefficients from Eqs. (9.25) to (9.27). On account of the Parodi relationship, to find all five coefficients, one needs, at least, two additional measurements. In particular, the ratio of coefficients a3/a2 can be measured by observation of the director field distortion due to capillary flow of a nematic. The last combination yi = as — as can be found from the dynamics of director relaxation. 

Gahwiller, C. The viscosity coefficients of a room-temperature liquid crystal (MBBA). Phys. Lett. 36A, 311-312(1971) Direct determination of the five independent viscosity coefficients of nematic liquid crystals. Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 20, 301-318 (1973). 

Fig. 13.10 Comparison of the temperature dependencies of viscosity coefficients yi (nematic), (soft mode) and y (Goldstone mode) of the same chiral mixture within the ranges of the N and SmC phases [15]. Note that Yi and y curves may be bridged through the SmA phase black points) where measurement have not been made...

Chapter 6 heralds the second part of the book and introduces the reader to anisotropy of the magnetic and electric properties of mesophases. Following in Chapter 7 there is a focus on the anisotropy of transport properties, especially of electrical cOTiductivity. Without these two chapters (Chapters 6 and 7), it would be impossible to discuss electro-optical properties in the third section of the book. Further, Chapters 7 and 8 deal with the anisotropy of the properties of elasticity and viscosity. Chapter 8 is more difficult than the others, and in order to present the theoretical results as clearly as possible, the focus is on the experimental methods for the determinatimi of Leslie viscosity coefficients from the viscous stress tensor of the nematic phase. Chapter 9 terminates the discussion of the anisotropy of... 

There exist only five independent viscosity coefficients in nematics, because according to the Onsager theory it could be shown [63] that (Parodies relationship)... 

The total set of Leslie viscosity coefficients for nematic liquid crystal MBBA [28] and 5CB [32] are given in Table I (following the Introduction). 

A second requirement for this instability to occur is that the two Leslie viscosity coefficients tt2 and Oi are of opposite signs [276,312]. If the ratio between the two viscosities is positive, the director exhibits different dynamics it aligns with respect to the velocity at an angle 6I9 such that tan (6b) = a2/ 3- Note finally that, despite a complex microstructure, the classification in terms of flow-aligning and tumbling nematics, as defined for low molecular weight liquid-crystals, still applied to lyotropic systems. 

Recently Tao et al. extended the MS theory by adding to Eq. (3) the isotropic, density-dependent component of the molecular interactions (/o(r) in the form of the Lennard-Jones potential (/o(r) = 4e [(o-/r) -(o-/r) ]. As a result they obtained a better agreement of the calculated and experimental quantities characterizing the nematic-isotropic transition, for example, volume change at and the values of dT ldp. Chrzanowska and Sokalski considered the case when the parameter Lennard-Jones potential is dependent on the orientation of molecules that allows one to predict properly for MBBA such properties as order parameters, elastic constants, and rotational viscosity coefficients. 

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