Thermo-mechanical coupling in cholesteric liquid crystals

Abstract

A feature of continuum theory of cholesteric liquid crystals is that it includes explicit coupling between thermal gradients and motion of the liquid crystal. This paper investigates the influence of a thermal gradient perpendicular to the axis of the characteristic, static, helical orientation pattern, examining an appropriate solution of the continuum theory equations. In general, one finds that the theory predicts that the presence of the temperature gradient leads to flow, and an experiment is proposed which could provide an estimate of a relevant material parameter. With the aid of another experiment discussed earlier, this would allow one to obtain some indication of the practical importance of this thermo-mechanical coupling.