Orientational nematodynamics of a compressible hybrid liquid-crystal cell

The relaxation of the director field, the velocity field, the density field, and the stress tensor components in response to a temperature gradient ▿T directed perpendicular to the bounding surfaces of a liquidcrystal cell with a hybrid orientation is investigated in the framework of the classical Ericksen-Leslie hydrodynamic theory of compressible liquid crystals. In the case of the nematic liquid crystal formed by 4-n′-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) molecules, a steady-state hydrodynamic flow with the magnitude and direction dependent on the magnitude and direction of the temperature gradient ▿T is induced in the hybrid liquidcrystal cell under the effect of the temperature gradient ▿T. A number of relaxation and hydrodynamic regimes are investigated and the relaxation times of the director and velocities fields, as well as the stress tensor components, are determined for the 5CB nematic liquid crystal.