Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: We introduce a new mesoscopic model for nematic liquid crystals (LCs). We extend the particle-based stochastic rotation dynamics method, which reproduces the Navier-Stokes equation, to anisotropic fluids by including a simplified Ericksen-Leslie formulation of nematodynamics. We verify the applicability of this hybrid model by studying the equilibrium isotropic-nematic phase transition and nonequilibrium problems, such as the dynamics of topological defects and the rheology of sheared LCs. Our simulation results show that this hybrid model captures many essential aspects of LC physics at the mesoscopic scale, while preserving microscopic thermal fluctuations.
Source: The Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI: 10.1063/1.4919310
Authors: Kuang-Wu Lee, Marco G. Mazza
Language: English
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1980911284