A kinetic–hydrodynamic simulation of microstructure of liquid crystal polymers in plane shear flow

Abstract

We study the microstructure formation and defects dynamics arising in liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) in plane shear flow by a kinetic–hydrodynamic coupled model. The kinetic model is an extension of the Doi theory with a non-local intermolecular potential, including translational diffusion and density variation. LCP molecules are ensured anchoring at the boundary by an additional boundary potential, meanwhile mass conservation of LCPs holds in the whole flow region. Plane Couette flow and Poiseuille flow are studied using the kinetic–hydrodynamic model and the molecular director is restricted in the shear plane. In plane Couette flow, the numerical results predict seven in-plane flow modes, including four in-plane modes reported by Rey and Tsuji [Macromol. Theory Simul. 7 (1998) 623–639] and three new complicated in-plane modes with inner defects. Furthermore, some significant scaling properties were verified, such as the thickness of the boundary layer is proportional to molecular length, the tumbling period is proportional to the inverse of shear rate. In plane Poiseuille flow, the micro-morph is quasi-periodic in time when flow viscosity and molecular elasticity are comparable. Different local states, such as flow-aligning, tumbling or wagging, arise in different flow region. The difference of the local states, or difference of the tumbling rates in near-by regions causes defects and form branch pattern in director spatial–temporal configuration figure.