A multi-faceted study of nematic order reconstruction in microfluidic channels

Tools

Dalby, James and Han, Yucen and Majumdar, Apala and Mrad, Lidia (2023) A multi-faceted study of nematic order reconstruction in microfluidic channels. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 83 (6). pp. 2284-2309. ISSN 1095-712X (https://doi.org/10.1137/22M1490909)

[thumbnail of Dalby-etal-SIAM-JAM-2023-A-multi-faceted-study-of-nematic-order-reconstruction]
Preview
 Text. Filename: Dalby_etal_SIAM_JAM_2023_A_multi_faceted_study_of_nematic_order_reconstruction.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 logo
Download (6MB)| Preview

Abstract

We study order reconstruction (OR) solutions in the Beris–Edwards framework for nematodynamics, for both passive and active nematic flows in a microfluidic channel. OR solutions exhibit polydomains and domain walls, and as such, are of physical interest. We show that OR solutions exist for passive flows with constant velocity and pressure, but only for specific boundary conditions. We prove the existence of unique, symmetric, and nonsingular nematic profiles for boundary conditions that do not allow for OR solutions. We compute asymptotic expansions for OR-type solutions for passive flows with nonconstant velocity and pressure, and active flows, which shed light on the internal structure of domain walls. The asymptotics are complemented by numerical studies that demonstrate the universality of OR-type structures in static and dynamic scenarios.

ORCID iDs

Dalby, James, Han, Yucen, Majumdar, Apala ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4802-6720 and Mrad, Lidia;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)