WorldWideScience

Sample records for plastic liquid crystal

  1. Plastic substrates for active matrix liquid crystal display incapable of withstanding processing temperature of over 200 C and method of fabrication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carey, P.G.; Smith, P.M.; Havens, J.H.; Jones, P.

    1999-01-05

    Bright-polarizer-free, active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs) are formed on plastic substrates. The primary components of the display are a pixel circuit fabricated on one plastic substrate, an intervening liquid-crystal material, and a counter electrode on a second plastic substrate. The-pixel circuit contains one or more thin-film transistors (TFTs) and either a transparent or reflective pixel electrode manufactured at sufficiently low temperatures to avoid damage to the plastic substrate. Fabrication of the TFTs can be carried out at temperatures less than 100 C. The liquid crystal material is a commercially made nematic curvilinear aligned phase (NCAP) film. The counter electrode is comprised of a plastic substrate coated with a transparent conductor, such as indium-doped tin oxide (ITO). By coupling the active matrix with NCAP, a high-information content can be provided in a bright, fully plastic package. Applications include any low cost portable electronics containing flat displays where ruggedization of the display is desired. 12 figs.

  2. Plastic substrates for active matrix liquid crystal display incapable of withstanding processing temperature of over 200.degree. C and method of fabrication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carey, Paul G. (Mountain View, CA); Smith, Patrick M. (San Ramon, CA); Havens, John (San Diego, CA); Jones, Phil (Marlborough, GB)

    1999-01-01

    Bright-polarizer-free, active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs) are formed on plastic substrates. The primary components of the display are a pixel circuit fabricated on one plastic substrate, an intervening liquid-crystal material, and a counter electrode on a second plastic substrate. The-pixel circuit contains one or more thin-film transistors (TFTs) and either a transparent or reflective pixel electrode manufactured at sufficiently low temperatures to avoid damage to the plastic substrate. Fabrication of the TFTs can be carried out at temperatures less than 100.degree. C. The liquid crystal material is a commercially made nematic curvilinear aligned phase (NCAP) film. The counter electrode is comprised of a plastic substrate coated with a transparent conductor, such as indium-doped tin oxide (ITO). By coupling the active matrix with NCAP, a high-information content can be provided in a bright, fully plastic package. Applications include any low cost portable electronics containing flat displays where ruggedization of the display is desired.

  3. Toward protic ionic liquid and organic ionic plastic crystal electrolytes for fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rana, Usman Ali; Forsyth, Maria; MacFarlane, Douglas R.; Pringle, Jennifer M.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells that can operate above 120 °C, without humidification, would be much more commercially viable. ► Protic ionic liquids and organic ionic plastic crystals are showing increasing promise as anhydrous proton conductors in fuel cells. ► Here we review the recent progress in these two areas. - Abstract: There is increasing demand for the development of anhydrous proton conducting electrolytes, most notably to allow the development of fuel cells that can operate at temperatures above 120 °C, without the need for constant and controlled humidification. The emerging field of protic ionic liquids (PILs) represents a promising new direction for this research and the development of these materials has made significant progress in recent years. In a related but as yet little-explored avenue, proton conducting organic ionic plastic crystals offer the potential advantage of providing a solid state matrix for anhydrous proton conductivity. Here we discuss the recent progress in these areas and identify the key challenges for future research.

  4. Use of Plastic Capillaries for Macromolecular Crystallization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potter, Rachel R.; Hong, Young-Soo; Ciszak, Ewa M.

    2003-01-01

    Methods of crystallization of biomolecules in plastic capillaries (Nalgene 870 PFA tubing) are presented. These crystallization methods used batch, free-interface liquid- liquid diffusion alone, or a combination with vapor diffusion. Results demonstrated growth of crystals of test proteins such as thaumatin and glucose isomerase, as well as protein studied in our laboratory such dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase. Once the solutions were loaded in capillaries, they were stored in the tubes in frozen state at cryogenic temperatures until the desired time of activation of crystallization experiments.

  5. Liquid nitrogen dewar for protein crystal growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-01-01

    Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar apparatus developed by Dr. Alex McPherson of the University of California, Irvine for use aboard Mir and the International Space Station allows large quantities of protein samples to be crystallized in orbit. The specimens are contained either in plastic tubing (heat-sealed at each end). Biological samples are prepared with a precipitating agent in either a batch or liquid-liquid diffusion configuration. The samples are then flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen before crystallization can start. On orbit, the Dewar is placed in a quiet area of the station and the nitrogen slowly boils off (it is taken up by the environmental control system), allowing the proteins to thaw to begin crystallization. The Dewar is returned to Earth after one to four months on orbit, depending on Shuttle flight opportunities. The tubes then are analyzed for crystal presence and quality

  6. Computational strain gradient crystal plasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niordson, Christian Frithiof; Kysar, Jeffrey W.

    2014-01-01

    A numerical method for viscous strain gradient crystal plasticity theory is presented, which incorporates both energetic and dissipative gradient effects. The underlying minimum principles are discussed as well as convergence properties of the proposed finite element procedure. Three problems...... of plane crystal plasticity are studied: pure shear of a single crystal between rigid platens as well as plastic deformation around cylindrical voids in hexagonal close packed and face centered cubic crystals. Effective in-plane constitutive slip parameters for plane strain deformation of specifically...... oriented face centered cubic crystals are developed in terms of the crystallographic slip parameters. The effect on geometrically necessary dislocation structures introduced by plastic deformation is investigated as a function of the ratio of void radius to plasticity length scale....

  7. New developments in flexible cholesteric liquid crystal displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Tod; Davis, Donald J.; Franklin, Sean; Venkataraman, Nithya; McDaniel, Diaz; Nicholson, Forrest; Montbach, Erica; Khan, Asad; Doane, J. William

    2007-02-01

    Flexible Cholesteric liquid crystal displays have been rapidly maturing into a strong contender in the flexible display market. Encapsulation of the Cholesteric liquid crystal permits the use of flexible plastic substrates and roll-to-roll production. Recent advances include ultra-thin displays, laser-cut segmented displays of variable geometry, and smart card applications. Exciting technologies such as simultaneous laser-edge sealing and singulation enable high volume production, excellent quality control and non-traditional display geometries and formats.

  8. Size effects in crystal plasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borg, Ulrik

    2007-01-01

    Numerical analyses of plasticity size effects have been carried out for different problems using a developed strain gradient crystal plasticiy theory. The theory employs higher order stresses as work conjugates to slip gradients and uses higher order boundary conditions. Problems on localization...... of plastic flow in a single crystal, grain boundary effects in a bicrystal, and grain size effects in a polycrystal are studied. Single crystals containing micro-scale voids have also been analyzed at different loading conditions with focus on the stress and deformation fields around the voids, on void...... growth and interaction between neighboring voids, and on a comparison between the developed strain gradient crystal plasticity theory and a discrete dislocation plasticity theory. Furthermore, voids and rigid inclusions in isotropic materials have been studied using a strain gradient plasticity theory...

  9. Plastic crystal phases of simple water models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aragones, J. L.; Vega, C.

    2009-01-01

    We report the appearance of two plastic crystal phases of water at high pressure and temperature using computer simulations. In one of them the oxygen atoms form a body centered cubic structure (bcc) and in the other they form a face centered cubic structure (fcc). In both cases the water molecules were able to rotate almost freely. We have found that the bcc plastic crystal transformed into a fcc plastic crystal via a Martensitic phase transition when heated at constant pressure. We have performed the characterization and localization in the phase diagram of these plastic crystal phases for the SPC/E, TIP4P, and TIP4P/2005 water potential models. For TIP4P/2005 model free energy calculations were carried out for the bcc plastic crystal and fcc plastic crystal using a new method (which is a slight variation of the Einstein crystal method) proposed for these types of solid. The initial coexistence points for the SPC/E and TIP4P models were obtained using Hamiltonian Gibbs–Duhem integration. For all of these models these two plastic crystal phases appear in the high pressure and temperature region of the phase diagram. It would be of interest to study if such plastic crystal phases do indeed exist for real water. This would shed some light on the question of whether these models can describe satisfactorily the high pressure part of the phase diagram of water, and if not, where and why they fail.

  10. Crystal plasticity study of single crystal tungsten by indentation tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao, Weizhi

    2012-01-01

    Owing to its favorable material properties, tungsten (W) has been studied as a plasma-facing material in fusion reactors. Experiments on W heating in plasma sources and electron beam facilities have shown an intense micro-crack formation at the heated surface and sub-surface. The cracks go deep inside the irradiated sample, and often large distorted areas caused by local plastic deformation are present around the cracks. To interpret the crack-induced microscopic damage evolution process in W, one needs firstly to understand its plasticity on a single grain level, which is referred to as crystal plasticity. In this thesis, the crystal plasticity of single crystal tungsten (SCW) has been studied by spherical and Berkovich indentation tests and the finite element method with a crystal plasticity model. Appropriate values of the material parameters included in the crystal plasticity model are determined by fitting measured load-displacement curves and pile-up profiles with simulated counterparts for spherical indentation. The numerical simulations reveal excellent agreement with experiment. While the load-displacement curves and the deduced indentation hardness exhibit little sensitivity to the indented plane at small indentation depths, the orientation of slip directions within the crystals governs the development of deformation hillocks at the surface. It is found that several factors like friction, indentation depth, active slip systems, misoriented crystal orientation, misoriented sample surface and azimuthal orientation of the indenter can affect the indentation behavior of SCW. The Berkovich indentation test was also used to study the crystal plasticity of SCW after deuterium irradiation. The critical load (pop-in load) for triggering plastic deformation under the indenter is found to depend on the crystallographic orientation. The pop-in loads decrease dramatically after deuterium plasma irradiation for all three investigated crystallographic planes.

  11. Nanoparticles in liquid crystals, and liquid crystals in nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Pablo, Juan

    2015-03-01

    Liquid crystals are remarkably sensitive to interfacial interactions. Small perturbations at a liquid crystal interface, for example, can be propagated over relatively long length scales, thereby providing the basis for a wide range of applications that rely on amplification of molecular events into macroscopic observables. Our recent research efforts have focused on the reverse phenomenon; that is, we have sought to manipulate the interfacial assembly of nanoparticles or the organization of surface active molecules by controlling the structure of a liquid crystal. This presentation will consist of a review of the basic principles that are responsible for liquid crystal-mediated interactions, followed by demonstrations of those principles in the context of two types of systems. In the first, a liquid crystal is used to direct the assembly of nanoparticles; through a combination of molecular and continuum models, it is found that minute changes in interfacial energy and particle size lead to liquid-crystal induced attractions that can span multiple orders of magnitude. Theoretical predictions are confirmed by experimental observations, which also suggest that LC-mediated assembly provides an effective means for fabrication of plasmonic devices. In the second type of system, the structure of a liquid crystal is controlled by confinement in submicron droplets. The morphology of the liquid crystal in a drop depends on a delicate balance between bulk and interfacial contributions to the free energy; that balance can be easily perturbed by adsorption of analytes or nanoparticles at the interface, thereby providing the basis for development of hierarchical assembly of responsive, anisotropic materials. Theoretical predictions also indicate that the three-dimensional order of a liquid crystal can be projected onto a two-dimensional interface, and give rise to novel nanostructures that are not found in simple isotropic fluids.

  12. Liquid crystal displays with plastic substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lueder, Ernst H.

    1998-04-01

    Plastic substrates for the cells of displays exhibit only 1/6 of the weight of glass substrates; they are virtually unbreakable; their flexibility allows the designer to give them a shape suppressing reflections, to realize a display board on a curved surface or meeting the requirements for an appealing styling; displays with plastics are thinner which provides a wider viewing angle. These features render them attractive for displays in portable systems such as mobile phones, pagers, smart cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and portable computers. Reflective displays are especially attractive as they don't need a back light. The most important requirements are the protection of plastics against gas permeation and chemical agents, the prevention of layers on plastics to crack or peel off when the plastic is bent and the development of low temperature thin film processes because the plastics, as a rule, only tolerate temperatures below 150 degrees Celsius. Bistable reflective FLC- and PSCT-displays with plastic substrates will be introduced. Special sputtered SiO2-orientation layers preserve the displayed information even if pressure or torsion is applied. MIM-addressed PDLC-displays require additional Al- or Ti-layers which provide the necessary ductility. Sputtered or PECVD-generated TFTs can be fabricated on plastics at temperatures below 150 degrees Celsius.

  13. Plasticity size effects in voided crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hussein, M. I.; Borg, Ulrik; Niordson, Christian Frithiof

    singularities in an elastic material. The lattice resistance to dislocation motion, dislocation nucleation, dislocation interaction with obstacles and annihilation are incorporated through a set of constitutive rules. Over the range of length scales investigated, both the discrete dislocation and strain......The shear and equi-biaxial straining responses of periodic voided single crystals are analysed using discrete dislocation plasticity and a continuum strain gradient crystal plasticity theory. In the discrete dislocation formulation the dislocations are all of edge character and are modelled as line...... predictions of the two formulations for all crystal types and void volume fractions considered when the material length scale in the non-local plasticity model chosen to be $0.325\\mu m$ (around ten times the slip plane spacing in the discrete dislocation models)....

  14. Plasticity size effects in voided crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hussein, M.I.; Borg, Ulrik; Niordson, Christian Frithiof

    2008-01-01

    as line singularities in an elastic material. The lattice resistance to dislocation motion, dislocation nucleation, dislocation interaction with obstacles and annihilation are incorporated through a set of constitutive rules. Over the range of length scales investigated, both the discrete dislocation......The shear and equi-biaxial straining responses of periodic voided single crystals are analysed using discrete dislocation plasticity and a continuum strain gradient crystal plasticity theory. In the discrete dislocation formulation, the dislocations are all of edge character and are modelled...... between predictions of the two formulations for all crystal types and void volume fractions considered when the material length scale in the non-local plasticity model is chosen to be 0.325 mu m (about 10 times the slip plane spacing in the discrete dislocation models)....

  15. Avalanches and plastic flow in crystal plasticity: an overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papanikolaou, Stefanos; Cui, Yinan; Ghoniem, Nasr

    2018-01-01

    Crystal plasticity is mediated through dislocations, which form knotted configurations in a complex energy landscape. Once they disentangle and move, they may also be impeded by permanent obstacles with finite energy barriers or frustrating long-range interactions. The outcome of such complexity is the emergence of dislocation avalanches as the basic mechanism of plastic flow in solids at the nanoscale. While the deformation behavior of bulk materials appears smooth, a predictive model should clearly be based upon the character of these dislocation avalanches and their associated strain bursts. We provide here a comprehensive overview of experimental observations, theoretical models and computational approaches that have been developed to unravel the multiple aspects of dislocation avalanche physics and the phenomena leading to strain bursts in crystal plasticity.

  16. Application of Thin Films of Conjugated Polymers in Novel LED's and Liquid Crystal 'Light Valves'

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    MacDiarmid, A

    1997-01-01

    .... Flexible, completely organic polymer dispersed liquid crystal light valves have been fabricated from transparent plastic substrates on which a conducting film of polypyrrole has been deposited...

  17. Large Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals Based on Monocrystalline Liquid Crystal Blue Phases (Postprint)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-09-28

    a pair of glass slides with plastic spacers to determine the cell gap: 100 and 300 μm for the polymer-free BPLCs and 12 μm for the polymer-stabilized...Nissan) and rubbed with cloth to induce uniform planar alignment. Measurements. Reflection and transmission spectra were taken using a spectro- meter...thermal recycles . Opt. Mater. Express 2, 1149–1155 (2012). 34. Onusseit, H. & Stegemeyer, H. Liquid single crystals of cholesteric blue phases. Z

  18. Computational Strain Gradient Crystal Plasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niordson, Christian Frithiof; Kysar, Jeffrey W.

    2011-01-01

    A model for strain gradient crystal visco-plasticity is formulated along the lines proposed by Fleck andWillis (2009) for isotropic plasticity. Size-effects are included in the model due to the addition of gradient terms in both the free energy as well as through a dissipation potential. A finite...... element solution method is presented, which delivers the slip-rate field and the velocity-field based on two minimum principles. Some plane deformation problems relevant for certain specific orientations of a face centered cubic crystal under plane loading conditions are studied, and effective in......-plane parameters are developed based on the crystallographic properties of the material. The problem of cyclic shear of a single crystal between rigid platens is studied as well as void growth of a cylindrical void....

  19. Liquid Crystal Colloids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smalyukh, Ivan I.

    2018-03-01

    Colloids are abundant in nature, science, and technology, with examples ranging from milk to quantum dots and the colloidal atom paradigm. Similarly, liquid crystal ordering is important in contexts ranging from biological membranes to laboratory models of cosmic strings and liquid crystal displays in consumer devices. Some of the most exciting recent developments in both of these soft matter fields emerge at their interface, in the fast-growing research arena of liquid crystal colloids. Mesoscale self-assembly in such systems may lead to artificial materials and to structures with emergent physical behavior arising from patterning of molecular order and nano- or microparticles into precisely controlled configurations. Liquid crystal colloids show exceptional promise for new discovery that may impinge on composite material fabrication, low-dimensional topology, photonics, and so on. Starting from physical underpinnings, I review the state of the art in this fast-growing field, with a focus on its scientific and technological potential.

  20. Ferroelectricity and Piezoelectricity in Free-Standing Polycrystalline Films of Plastic Crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harada, Jun; Yoneyama, Naho; Yokokura, Seiya; Takahashi, Yukihiro; Miura, Atsushi; Kitamura, Noboru; Inabe, Tamotsu

    2018-01-10

    Plastic crystals represent a unique compound class that is often encountered in molecules with globular structures. The highly symmetric cubic crystal structure of plastic crystals endows these materials with multiaxial ferroelectricity that allows a three-dimensional realignment of the polarization axes of the crystals, which cannot be achieved using conventional molecular ferroelectric crystals with low crystal symmetry. In this work, we focused our attention on malleability as another characteristic feature of plastic crystals. We have synthesized the new plastic/ferroelectric ionic crystals tetramethylammonium tetrachloroferrate(III) and tetramethylammonium bromotrichloroferrate(III), and discovered that free-standing translucent films can be easily prepared by pressing powdered samples of these compounds. The thus obtained polycrystalline films exhibit ferroelectric polarization switching and a relatively large piezoelectric response at room temperature. The ready availability of functional films demonstrates the practical utility of such plastic/ferroelectric crystals, and considering the vast variety of possible constituent cations and anions, a wide range of applications should be expected for these unique and attractive functional materials.

  1. Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals

    CERN Document Server

    Gray, George W; Spiess, Hans W

    1999-01-01

    This handbook is a unique compendium of knowledge on all aspects of the physics of liquid crystals. In over 500 pages it provides detailed information on the physical properties of liquid crystals as well as the recent theories and results on phase transitions, defects and textures of different types of liquid crystals. An in-depth understanding of the physical fundamentals is a prerequisite for everyone working in the field of liquid crystal research. With this book the experts as well as graduate students entering the field get all the information they need.

  2. The sweet world of liquid crystals : The synthesis of non-amphiphilic carbohydrate-derived liquid crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smits, E

    1998-01-01

    The research in carbohydrate-derived liquid crystals was initiated by a review article by Jeffrey in 1986. This is rather late if one considers that the research on liquid crystals underwent a revival already in the 1960s after the discovery of the liquid crystal display (LCD). Carbohydrates were

  3. Pressure sensor using liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmar, Devendra S. (Inventor); Holmes, Harlan K. (Inventor)

    1994-01-01

    A pressure sensor includes a liquid crystal positioned between transparent, electrically conductive films (18 and 20), that are biased by a voltage (V) which induces an electric field (E) that causes the liquid crystal to assume a first state of orientation. Application of pressure (P) to a flexible, transparent film (24) causes the conductive film (20) to move closer to or farther from the conductive film (18), thereby causing a change in the electric field (E'(P)) which causes the liquid crystal to assume a second state of orientation. Polarized light (P.sub.1) is directed into the liquid crystal and transmitted or reflected to an analyzer (A or 30). Changes in the state of orientation of the liquid crystal induced by applied pressure (P) result in a different light intensity being detected at the analyzer (A or 30) as a function of the applied pressure (P). In particular embodiments, the liquid crystal is present as droplets (10) in a polymer matrix (12) or in cells (14) in a polymeric or dielectric grid (16) material in the form of a layer (13) between the electrically conductive films (18 and 20). The liquid crystal fills the open wells in the polymer matrix (12) or grid (16) only partially.

  4. Orientational order and rotational relaxation in the plastic crystal phase of tetrahedral molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rey, Rossend

    2008-01-17

    A methodology recently introduced to describe orientational order in liquid carbon tetrachloride is extended to the plastic crystal phase of XY4 molecules. The notion that liquid and plastic crystal phases are germane regarding orientational order is confirmed for short intermolecular distances but is seen to fail beyond, as long range orientational correlations are found for the simulated solid phase. It is argued that, if real, such a phenomenon may not to be accessible with direct (diffraction) methods due to the high molecular symmetry. This behavior is linked to the existence of preferential orientation with respect to the fcc crystalline network defined by the centers of mass. It is found that the dominant class accounts, at most, for one-third of all configurations, with a feeble dependence on temperature. Finally, the issue of rotational relaxation is also addressed, with an excellent agreement with experimental measures. It is shown that relaxation is nonhomogeneous in the picosecond range, with a slight dispersion of decay times depending on the initial orientational class. The results reported mainly correspond to neopentane over a wide temperature range, although results for carbon tetrachloride are included, as well.

  5. Modeling liquid crystal polymeric devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gimenez Pinto, Vianney Karina

    The main focus of this work is the theoretical and numerical study of materials that combine liquid crystal and polymer. Liquid crystal elastomers are polymeric materials that exhibit both the ordered properties of the liquid crystals and the elastic properties of rubbers. Changing the order of the liquid crystal molecules within the polymer network can induce shape change. These materials are very valuable for applications such as actuators, sensors, artificial muscles, haptic displays, etc. In this work we apply finite element elastodynamics simulations to study the temperature induced shape deformation in nematic elastomers with complex director microstructure. In another topic, we propose a novel numerical method to model the director dynamics and microstructural evolution of three dimensional nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals. Numerical studies presented in this work are in agreement with experimental observations and provide insight into the design of application devices.

  6. Plasticity and beyond microstructures, crystal-plasticity and phase transitions

    CERN Document Server

    Hackl, Klaus

    2014-01-01

    The book presents the latest findings in experimental plasticity, crystal plasticity, phase transitions, advanced mathematical modeling of finite plasticity and multi-scale modeling. The associated algorithmic treatment is mainly based on finite element formulations for standard (local approach) as well as for non-standard (non-local approach) continua and for pure macroscopic as well as for directly coupled two-scale boundary value problems. Applications in the area of material design/processing are covered, ranging from grain boundary effects in polycrystals and phase transitions to deep-drawing of multiphase steels by directly taking into account random microstructures.

  7. Liquid Crystals in Decorative and Visual Arts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makow, David

    The following sections are included: * INTRODUCTION * PIGMENT AND STRUCTURAL COLOURS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO LIQUID CRYSTALS * LIQUID CRYSTAL MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES FOR DECORATIVE AND VISUAL ARTS * Free cholesteric liquid crystals (FCLC's) * Encapsulated liquid crystals (ECLC's) * Nonsteroid Chiral nematics * Polymers with liquid crystalline properties (PLCs) * COLOUR PROPERTIES OF CHOLESTERIC LIQUID CRYSTALS (CLC's) * Molecular structure and the mechanism of colour production * Dependence of perceived colours on the angle of illumination and viewing * Dependence of perceived colours on temperature * Additive colour properties * Methods of doubling the peak reflectance of cholesteric liquid crystals * Colour gamut * Colours of superimposed and pigmented coatings * Colours in transmission * ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS * REFERENCES

  8. Wetting of cholesteric liquid crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvestre, Nuno M; Figueirinhas Pereira, Maria Carolina; Bernardino, Nelson R; Telo da Gama, Margarida M

    2016-02-01

    We investigate theoretically the wetting properties of cholesteric liquid crystals at a planar substrate. If the properties of substrate and of the interface are such that the cholesteric layers are not distorted, the wetting properties are similar to those of a nematic liquid crystal. If, on the other hand, the anchoring conditions force the distortion of the liquid crystal layers the wetting properties are altered, the free cholesteric-isotropic interface is non-planar and there is a layer of topological defects close to the substrate. These deformations can either promote or hinder the wetting of the substrate by a cholesteric, depending on the properties of the cholesteric liquid crystal.

  9. Strain gradient crystal plasticity effects on flow localization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borg, Ulrik

    2007-01-01

    for metals described by the reformulated Fleck-Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity theory. The theory is implemented numerically within a finite element framework using slip rate increments and displacement increments as state variables. The formulation reduces to the classical crystal plasticity theory...... in the absence of strain gradients. The model is used to study the effect of an internal material length scale on the localization of plastic flow in shear bands in a single crystal under plane strain tension. It is shown that the mesh sensitivity is removed when using the nonlocal material model considered...

  10. Intermittent dislocation density fluctuations in crystal plasticity from a phase-field crystal model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tarp, Jens M.; Angheluta, Luiza; Mathiesen, Joachim

    2014-01-01

    Plastic deformation mediated by collective dislocation dynamics is investigated in the two-dimensional phase-field crystal model of sheared single crystals. We find that intermittent fluctuations in the dislocation population number accompany bursts in the plastic strain-rate fluctuations...... propose a simple stochastic model of dislocation reaction kinetics that is able to capture these statistical properties of the dislocation density fluctuations as a function of shear rate....

  11. A finite deformation theory of higher-order gradient crystal plasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuroda, Mitsutoshi; Tvergaard, Viggo

    2008-01-01

    crystal plasticity that is based on an assumption of the existence of higher-order stresses. Furthermore, a boundary-value problem for simple shear of a constrained thin strip is studied numerically, and some characteristic features of finite deformation are demonstrated through a comparison to a solution......For higher-order gradient crystal plasticity, a finite deformation formulation is presented. The theory does not deviate much from the conventional crystal plasticity theory. Only a back stress effect and additional differential equations for evolution of the geometrically necessary dislocation...

  12. Grain Interactions in Crystal Plasticity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyle, K.P.; Curtin, W.A.

    2005-01-01

    The plastic response of a sheet metal is governed by the collective response of the underlying grains. Intragranular plasticity depends on intrinsic variables such as crystallographic orientation and on extrinsic variables such as grain interactions; however, the role of the latter is not well understood. A finite element crystal plasticity formulation is used to investigate the importance of grain interactions on intragranular plastic deformation in initially untextured polycrystalline aggregates. A statistical analysis reveals that grain interactions are of equal (or more) importance for determining the average intragranular deviations from the applied strain as compared to the orientation of the grain itself. Furthermore, the influence of the surrounding grains is found to extend past nearest neighbor interactions. It is concluded that the stochastic nature of the mesoscale environment must be considered for a proper understanding of the plastic response of sheet metals at the grain-scale

  13. Liquid crystal interfaces: Experiments, simulations and biosensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popov, Piotr

    Interfacial phenomena are ubiquitous and extremely important in various aspects of biological and industrial processes. For example, many liquid crystal applications start by alignment with a surface. The underlying mechanisms of the molecular organization of liquid crystals at an interface are still under intensive study and continue to be important to the display industry in order to develop better and/or new display technology. My dissertation research has been devoted to studying how complex liquid crystals can be guided to organize at an interface, and to using my findings to develop practical applications. Specifically, I have been working on developing biosensors using liquid-crystal/surfactant/lipid/protein interactions as well as the alignment of low-symmetry liquid crystals for potential new display and optomechanical applications. The biotechnology industry needs better ways of sensing biomaterials and identifying various nanoscale events at biological interfaces and in aqueous solutions. Sensors in which the recognition material is a liquid crystal naturally connects the existing knowledge and experience of the display and biotechnology industries together with surface and soft matter sciences. This dissertation thus mainly focuses on the delicate phenomena that happen at liquid interfaces. In the introduction, I start by defining the interface and discuss its structure and the relevant interfacial forces. I then introduce the general characteristics of biosensors and, in particular, describe the design of biosensors that employ liquid crystal/aqueous solution interfaces. I further describe the basic properties of liquid crystal materials that are relevant for liquid crystal-based biosensing applications. In CHAPTER 2, I describe the simulation methods and experimental techniques used in this dissertation. In CHAPTER 3 and CHAPTER 4, I present my computer simulation work. CHAPTER 3 presents insight of how liquid crystal molecules are aligned by

  14. Computational description of nanocrystalline deformation based on crystal plasticity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu, H.-H.; Benson, David J.; Andre Meyers, Marc

    2004-01-01

    The effect of grain size on the mechanical response of polycrystalline metals was investigated computationally and applied to the nanocrystalline domain. A phenomenological constitutive description is adopted to build the computational crystal model. Two approaches are implemented. In the first, the material is envisaged as a composite; the grain interior is modeled as a monocrystalline core surrounded by a mantle (grain boundary) with a lower yield stress and higher work hardening rate response. Both a quasi-isotropic and crystal plasticity approaches are used to simulate the grain interiors. The grain boundary is modeled either by an isotropic Voce equation (Model I) or by crystal plasticity (Model II). Elastic and plastic anisotropy are incorporated into this simulation. An implicit Eulerian finite element formulation with von Mises plasticity or rate dependent crystal plasticity is used to study the nonuniform deformation and localized plastic flow. The computational predictions are compared with the experimentally determined mechanical response of copper with grain sizes of 1 μm and 26 nm. Shear localization is observed during work hardening in view of the inhomogeneous mechanical response. In the second approach, the use of a continuous change in mechanical response, expressed by the magnitude of the maximum shear stress orientation gradient, is introduced. It is shown that the magnitude of the gradient is directly dependent on grain size. This gradient term is inserted into a constitutive equation that predicts the local stress-strain evolution

  15. Thermotropic Ionic Liquid Crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Axenov, Kirill V.; Laschat, Sabine

    2011-01-01

    The last five years’ achievements in the synthesis and investigation of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals are reviewed. The present review describes the mesomorphic properties displayed by organic, as well as metal-containing ionic mesogens. In addition, a short overview on the ionic polymer and self-assembled liquid crystals is given. Potential and actual applications of ionic mesogens are also discussed. PMID:28879986

  16. Thermotropic Ionic Liquid Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabine Laschat

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The last five years’ achievements in the synthesis and investigation of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals are reviewed. The present review describes the mesomorphic properties displayed by organic, as well as metal-containing ionic mesogens. In addition, a short overview on the ionic polymer and self-assembled liquid crystals is given. Potential and actual applications of ionic mesogens are also discussed.

  17. Thermotropic Ionic Liquid Crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Axenov, Kirill V; Laschat, Sabine

    2011-01-14

    The last five years' achievements in the synthesis and investigation of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals are reviewed. The present review describes the mesomorphic properties displayed by organic, as well as metal-containing ionic mesogens. In addition, a short overview on the ionic polymer and self-assembled liquid crystals is given. Potential and actual applications of ionic mesogens are also discussed.

  18. Thermotropic Ionic Liquid Crystals

    OpenAIRE

    Axenov, Kirill V.; Laschat, Sabine

    2011-01-01

    The last five years’ achievements in the synthesis and investigation of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals are reviewed. The present review describes the mesomorphic properties displayed by organic, as well as metal-containing ionic mesogens. In addition, a short overview on the ionic polymer and self-assembled liquid crystals is given. Potential and actual applications of ionic mesogens are also discussed.

  19. Nonlinear and quantum optics with liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lukishova, Svetlana G

    2014-01-01

    Thermotropic liquid crystals' usual application is display technology. This paper describes experiments on light interaction with pure and doped liquid crystals under for these materials unconventional incident light powers: (1) under high-power laser irradiation, and (2) at the single-photon level. In (1), I will outline several nonlinear optical effects under high-power, nanosecond laser irradiation which should be taken into account in the design of lasers with liquid crystal components and in fabrication of optical power limiters based on liquid crystals: (1.1) athermal helical pitch dilation and unwinding of cholesteric mirrors (both in free space and inside laser resonators); (1.2) some pitfalls in measurements of refractive nonlinearity using z-scan technique under two-photon or linear absorption of liquids; (1.3) the first observation of thermal lens effects in liquid crystals under several-nanosecond, low-pulse-repetition rate (2-10 Hz) laser irradiation in the presence of two-photon absorption; (1.4) feedback-free kaleidoscope of patterns (hexagons, stripes, etc.) in dye-doped liquid crystals. In (2), at the single-photon level, it will be shown that with a proper selection of liquid crystals and a single-emitter dopant spectral range, liquid crystal structures can be used to control emitted single photons (both polarization and count rate). The application of the latter research is absolutely secure quantum communication with polarization coding of information. In particular, in (2.1), definite handedness, circular polarized cholesteric microcavity resonance in quantum dot fluorescence is reported. In (2.2), definite linear polarization of single (antibunched) photons from single-dye-molecules in planar-aligned nematic host is discussed. In (2.3), some results on photon antibunching from NV-color center in nanodiamond in liquid crystal host and circularly polarized fluorescence of definite handedness from nanocrystals doped with trivalent ions of

  20. Key Developments in Ionic Liquid Crystals

    OpenAIRE

    Fernandez, A.A.; Kouwer, P.H.J.

    2016-01-01

    Ionic liquid crystals are materials that combine the classes of liquid crystals and ionic liquids. The first one is based on the multi-billion-dollar flat panel display industry, whilst the latter quickly developed in the past decades into a family of highly-tunable non-volatile solvents. The combination yields materials with a unique set of properties, but also with many challenges ahead. In this review, we provide an overview of the key concepts in ionic liquid crystals, particularly from a...

  1. Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Phases from Anisotropic Nanomaterials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingo Dierking

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Liquid crystals are an integral part of a mature display technology, also establishing themselves in other applications, such as spatial light modulators, telecommunication technology, photonics, or sensors, just to name a few of the non-display applications. In recent years, there has been an increasing trend to add various nanomaterials to liquid crystals, which is motivated by several aspects of materials development. (i addition of nanomaterials can change and thus tune the properties of the liquid crystal; (ii novel functionalities can be added to the liquid crystal; and (iii the self-organization of the liquid crystalline state can be exploited to template ordered structures or to transfer order onto dispersed nanomaterials. Much of the research effort has been concentrated on thermotropic systems, which change order as a function of temperature. Here we review the other side of the medal, the formation and properties of ordered, anisotropic fluid phases, liquid crystals, by addition of shape-anisotropic nanomaterials to isotropic liquids. Several classes of materials will be discussed, inorganic and mineral liquid crystals, viruses, nanotubes and nanorods, as well as graphene oxide.

  2. Crystal plasticity study of monocrystalline stochastic honeycombs under in-plane compression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, Duancheng; Eisenlohr, Philip; Epler, Eike; Volkert, Cynthia A.; Shanthraj, Pratheek; Diehl, Martin; Roters, Franz; Raabe, Dierk

    2016-01-01

    We present a study on the plastic deformation of single crystalline stochastic honeycombs under in-plane compression using a crystal plasticity constitutive description for face-centered cubic (fcc) materials, focusing on the very early stage of plastic deformation, and identifying the interplay between the crystallographic orientation and the cellular structure during plastic deformation. We observe that despite the stochastic structure, surprisingly, the slip system activations in the honeycombs are almost identical to their corresponding bulk single crystals at the early stage of the plastic deformation. On the other hand, however, the yield stresses of the honeycombs are nearly independent of their crystallographic orientations. Similar mechanical response is found in compression testing of nanoporous gold micro-pillars aligned with various crystallographic orientations. The macroscopic stress tensors of the honeycombs show the same anisotropy as their respective bulk single crystals. Locally, however, there is an appreciable fluctuation in the local stresses, which are even larger than for polycrystals. This explains why the Taylor/Schmid factor associated with the crystallographic orientation is less useful to estimate the yield stresses of the honeycombs than the bulk single crystals and polycrystals, and why the plastic deformation occurs at smaller strains in the honeycombs than their corresponding bulk single crystals. Besides these findings, the observations of the crystallographic reorientation suggest that conventional orientation analysis tools, such as inverse pole figure and related tools, would in general fail to study the plastic deformation mechanism of monocrystalline cellular materials.

  3. Nanoscopic Manipulation and Imaging of Liquid Crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rosenblatt, Charles S. [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)

    2014-02-04

    This is the final project report. The project’s goals centered on nanoscopic imaging and control of liquid crystals and surfaces. We developed and refined techniques to control liquid crystal orientation at surfaces with resolution as small as 25 nm, we developed an optical imaging technique that we call Optical Nanotomography that allows us to obtain images inside liquid crystal films with resolution of 60 x 60 x 1 nm, and we opened new thrust areas related to chirality and to liquid crystal/colloid composites.

  4. Liquid crystals in biotribology synovial joint treatment

    CERN Document Server

    Ermakov, Sergey; Eismont, Oleg; Nikolaev, Vladimir

    2016-01-01

    This book summarizes the theoretical and experimental studies confirming the concept of the liquid-crystalline nature of boundary lubrication in synovial joints. It is shown that cholesteric liquid crystals in the synovial liquid play a significant role in the mechanism of intra-articular friction reduction. The results of structural, rheological and tribological research of the creation of artificial synovial liquids - containing cholesteric liquid crystals in natural synovial liquids - are described. These liquid crystals reproduce the lubrication properties of natural synovia and provide a high chondroprotective efficiency. They were tested in osteoarthritis models and in clinical practice.

  5. Biaxial nematic liquid crystals theory, simulation and experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Luckhurst, Geoffrey R

    2015-01-01

    Liquid Crystals are a state of matter that have properties between those of conventional liquid and those of a solid crystal. Thermotropic liquid crystals react to changes in temperature or, in some cases, pressure. The reaction of lyotropic liquid crystals, which are used in the manufacture of soaps and detergents, depends on the type of solvent they are mixed with. Since the accidental discovery of the chiral nematic (ordered) phase in 1888 many liquid crystal phases have been found, sometimes by chance and sometimes by design. The existence of one such phase was predicted by Freiser in 197

  6. Pattern formation in plastic liquid films on elastomers by ratcheting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jiangshui; Yang, Jiawei; Jin, Lihua; Clarke, David R; Suo, Zhigang

    2016-04-20

    Plastic liquids, also known as Bingham liquids, retain their shape when loads are small, but flow when loads exceed a threshold. We discovered that plastic liquid films coated on elastomers develop wavy patterns under cyclic loads. As the number of cycles increases, the wavelength of the patterns remains unchanged, but the amplitude of the patterns increases and then saturates. Because the patterns develop progressively under cyclic loads, we call this phenomenon as "patterning by ratcheting". We observe the phenomenon in plastic liquids of several kinds, and studied the effects of thickness, the cyclic frequency of the stretch, and the range of the stretch. Finite element simulations show that the ratcheting phenomenon can occur in materials described by a commonly used model of elastic-plastic deformation.

  7. Dislocations and Plastic Deformation in MgO Crystals: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Amodeo

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This review paper focuses on dislocations and plastic deformation in magnesium oxide crystals. MgO is an archetype ionic ceramic with refractory properties which is of interest in several fields of applications such as ceramic materials fabrication, nano-scale engineering and Earth sciences. In its bulk single crystal shape, MgO can deform up to few percent plastic strain due to dislocation plasticity processes that strongly depend on external parameters such as pressure, temperature, strain rate, or crystal size. This review describes how a combined approach of macro-mechanical tests, multi-scale modeling, nano-mechanical tests, and high pressure experiments and simulations have progressively helped to improve our understanding of MgO mechanical behavior and elementary dislocation-based processes under stress.

  8. Thermoelectricity in liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohd Said, Suhana; Nordin, Abdul Rahman; Abdullah, Norbani; Balamurugan, S.

    2015-09-01

    The thermoelectric effect, also known as the Seebeck effect, describes the conversion of a temperature gradient into electricity. A Figure of Merit (ZT) is used to describe the thermoelectric ability of a material. It is directly dependent on its Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, and inversely dependent on its thermal conductivity. There is usually a compromise between these parameters, which limit the performance of thermoelectric materials. The current achievement for ZT~2.2 falls short of the expected threshold of ZT=3 to allow its viability in commercial applications. In recent times, advances in organic thermoelectrics been significant, improving by over 3 orders of magnitude over a period of about 10 years. Liquid crystals are newly investigated as candidate thermoelectric materials, given their low thermal conductivity, inherent ordering, and in some cases, reasonable electrical conductivity. In this work the thermoelectric behaviour of a discotic liquid crystal, is discussed. The DLC was filled into cells coated with a charge injector, and an alignment of the columnar axis perpendicular to the substrate was allowed to form. This thermoelectric behavior can be correlated to the order-disorder transition. A reasonable thermoelectric power in the liquid crystal temperature regime was noted. In summary, thermoelectric liquid crystals may have the potential to be utilised in flexible devices, as a standalone power source.

  9. Ultra-fast solid state electro-optical modulator based on liquid crystal polymer and liquid crystal composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ouskova, Elena; Sio, Luciano De, E-mail: luciano@beamco.com; Vergara, Rafael; Tabiryan, Nelson [Beam Engineering for Advanced Measurements Company, Winter Park, Florida 32789 (United States); White, Timothy J.; Bunning, Timothy J. [Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433-7707 (United States)

    2014-12-08

    A different generation of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) based on a liquid crystalline polymer host is reported wherein the fluid behavior of the reactive mesogenic monomer is an enabler to concentration windows (liquid crystal polymer/liquid crystal) (and subsequent morphologies) not previously explored. These liquid crystal (LC) polymer/LC composites, LCPDLCs, exhibit excellent optical and electro-optical properties with negligible scattering losses in both the ON and OFF states. These systems thus have application in systems where fast phase modulation of optical signal instead of amplitude control is needed. Polarized optical microscopy and high resolution scanning electron microscopy confirm a bicontinuous morphology composed of aligned LC polymer coexisting with a phase separated LC fluid. Operating voltages, switching times, and spectra of LCPDLCs compare favourably to conventional PDLC films. The LCPDLCs exhibit a low switching voltage (4–5 V/μm), symmetric and submillisecond (200 μs) on/off response times, and high transmission in both the as formed and switched state in a phase modulation geometry.

  10. NMR spectroscopy using liquid crystal solvents

    CERN Document Server

    Emsley, JW

    2013-01-01

    NMR Spectroscopy using Liquid Crystal Solvents covers the importance of using a liquid crystal solvent in NMR to derive nuclear dipolar spin-spin coupling constants. This book is composed of ten chapters, and begins with a brief description of the features and benefits of liquid crystal in NMR spectroscopic analysis. The succeeding chapters deal with the mode of operation of nuclear spin Hamiltonian for partially oriented molecules and the analysis of NMR spectra of partially oriented molecules, as well as the determination of rigid molecule structure. These topics are followed by discussions

  11. Computer modeling of liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Barwani, M.S.

    1999-01-01

    In this thesis, we investigate several aspects of the behaviour of liquid crystal molecules near interfaces using computer simulation. We briefly discuss experiment, theoretical and computer simulation studies of some of the liquid crystal interfaces. We then describe three essentially independent research topics. The first of these concerns extensive simulations of a liquid crystal formed by long flexible molecules. We examined the bulk behaviour of the model and its structure. Studies of a film of smectic liquid crystal surrounded by vapour were also carried out. Extensive simulations were also done for a long-molecule/short-molecule mixture, studies were then carried out to investigate the liquid-vapour interface of the mixture. Next, we report the results of large scale simulations of soft-spherocylinders of two different lengths. We examined the bulk coexistence of the nematic and isotropic phases of the model. Once the bulk coexistence behaviour was known, properties of the nematic-isotropic interface were investigated. This was done by fitting order parameter and density profiles to appropriate mathematical functions and calculating the biaxial order parameter. We briefly discuss the ordering at the interfaces and make attempts to calculate the surface tension. Finally, in our third project, we study the effects of different surface topographies on creating bistable nematic liquid crystal devices. This was carried out using a model based on the discretisation of the free energy on a lattice. We use simulation to find the lowest energy states and investigate if they are degenerate in energy. We also test our model by studying the Frederiks transition and comparing with analytical and other simulation results. (author)

  12. Key Developments in Ionic Liquid Crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarez Fernandez, Alexandra; Kouwer, Paul H J

    2016-05-16

    Ionic liquid crystals are materials that combine the classes of liquid crystals and ionic liquids. The first one is based on the multi-billion-dollar flat panel display industry, whilst the latter quickly developed in the past decades into a family of highly-tunable non-volatile solvents. The combination yields materials with a unique set of properties, but also with many challenges ahead. In this review, we provide an overview of the key concepts in ionic liquid crystals, particularly from a molecular perspective. What are the important molecular parameters that determine the phase behavior? How should they be introduced into the molecules? Finally, which other tools does one have to realize specific properties in the material?

  13. Key Developments in Ionic Liquid Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra Alvarez Fernandez

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Ionic liquid crystals are materials that combine the classes of liquid crystals and ionic liquids. The first one is based on the multi-billion-dollar flat panel display industry, whilst the latter quickly developed in the past decades into a family of highly-tunable non-volatile solvents. The combination yields materials with a unique set of properties, but also with many challenges ahead. In this review, we provide an overview of the key concepts in ionic liquid crystals, particularly from a molecular perspective. What are the important molecular parameters that determine the phase behavior? How should they be introduced into the molecules? Finally, which other tools does one have to realize specific properties in the material?

  14. Alignment structures in ferroelectric liquid crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Islam, N.U

    1998-07-01

    Although for many years liquid crystals were of purely scientific interest, they have now become ubiquitous in everyday life. The use of the nematic liquid crystal phase in flat panel display applications has been the main factor in this popularity. However, with the advent of the SuperTwist Nematic (STN) device, the limits to which this phase could be exploited for display applications was perhaps reached. With the discovery by Clark et al. of the Surface Stabilised Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal (SSFLC) configuration, the possibility arose of using chiral smectic liquid crystals to create large area, passively addressed, fast switching, flat panel displays. Unfortunately, the structures that form within smectic liquid crystals, and the dynamics of the switching within these, are still not fully understood. In this thesis we address the former of these, making a detailed the study of the structures that form within tilted smectic liquid crystal devices. We present here the first complete theoretical and experimental study of various different ferroelectric liquid crystal materials, where we employed theoretical models based on a simple set of assumptions to understand the behaviour of a set of increasingly complex experimental systems. We started with the simplest of these, Freely Suspended Smectic Films (FSSFs) and then worked with progressively more realistic systems in the form of homeotropically, and later, homogeneously aligned liquid crystal cells. The equilibrium structures that form get particularly complex in the last case, taking the form of tilted and chevron layering structures. In each of these cases, the predictions of the modelling are compared with our experimental results. Further, we present here the first model of the chevron cusp that seeks to include the effects of biaxiality in the S{sub C} phase. We also present a model that seeks to analyse the stability of the chevron layering structure and its relationship with tilted layers. This includes

  15. Alignment structures in ferroelectric liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Islam, N.U.

    1998-01-01

    Although for many years liquid crystals were of purely scientific interest, they have now become ubiquitous in everyday life. The use of the nematic liquid crystal phase in flat panel display applications has been the main factor in this popularity. However, with the advent of the SuperTwist Nematic (STN) device, the limits to which this phase could be exploited for display applications was perhaps reached. With the discovery by Clark et al. of the Surface Stabilised Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal (SSFLC) configuration, the possibility arose of using chiral smectic liquid crystals to create large area, passively addressed, fast switching, flat panel displays. Unfortunately, the structures that form within smectic liquid crystals, and the dynamics of the switching within these, are still not fully understood. In this thesis we address the former of these, making a detailed the study of the structures that form within tilted smectic liquid crystal devices. We present here the first complete theoretical and experimental study of various different ferroelectric liquid crystal materials, where we employed theoretical models based on a simple set of assumptions to understand the behaviour of a set of increasingly complex experimental systems. We started with the simplest of these, Freely Suspended Smectic Films (FSSFs) and then worked with progressively more realistic systems in the form of homeotropically, and later, homogeneously aligned liquid crystal cells. The equilibrium structures that form get particularly complex in the last case, taking the form of tilted and chevron layering structures. In each of these cases, the predictions of the modelling are compared with our experimental results. Further, we present here the first model of the chevron cusp that seeks to include the effects of biaxiality in the S C phase. We also present a model that seeks to analyse the stability of the chevron layering structure and its relationship with tilted layers. This includes an

  16. Adsorption phenomena and anchoring energy in nematic liquid crystals

    CERN Document Server

    Barbero, Giovanni

    2005-01-01

    Despite the large quantity of phenomenological information concerning the bulk properties of nematic phase liquid crystals, little is understood about the origin of the surface energy, particularly the surface, interfacial, and anchoring properties of liquid crystals that affect the performance of liquid crystal devices. Self-contained and unique, Adsorption Phenomena and Anchoring Energy in Nematic Liquid Crystals provides an account of new and established results spanning three decades of research into the problems of anchoring energy and adsorption phenomena in liquid crystals.The book contains a detailed discussion of the origin and possible sources of anchoring energy in nematic liquid crystals, emphasizing the dielectric contribution to the anchoring energy in particular. Beginning with fundamental surface and anchoring properties of liquid crystals and the definition of the nematic phase, the authors explain how selective ion adsorption, dielectric energy density, thickness dependence, and bias voltage...

  17. Observation of plastic deformation in freestanding single crystal Au nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Dongyun; Zhao Manhong; Wei Xiaoding; Chen Xi; Jun, Seong C.; Hone, James; Herbert, Erik G.; Oliver, Warren C.; Kysar, Jeffrey W.

    2006-01-01

    Freestanding single crystal nanowires of gold were fabricated from a single grain of pure gold leaf by standard lithographic techniques, with center section of 7 μm in length, 250 nm in width, and 100 nm in thickness. The ends remained anchored to a silicon substrate. The specimens were deflected via nanoindenter until plastic deformation was achieved. Nonlocalized and localized plastic deformations were observed. The resulting force-displacement curves were simulated using continuum single crystal plasticity. A set of material parameters which closely reproduce the experimental results suggests that the initial critical resolved shear stress was as high as 135 MPa

  18. Strain gradient crystal plasticity analysis of a single crystal containing a cylindrical void

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borg, Ulrik; Kysar, J.W.

    2007-01-01

    to one another. Finite element simulations are performed using a strain gradient crystal plasticity formulation with an intrinsic length scale parameter in a non-local strain gradient constitutive framework. For a vanishing length scale parameter the non-local formulation reduces to a local crystal...... plasticity formulation. The stress and deformation fields obtained with a local non-hardening constitutive formulation are compared to those obtained from a local hardening formulation and to those from a non-local formulation. Compared to the case of the non-hardening local constitutive formulation......, it is shown that a local theory with hardening has only minor effects on the deformation field around the void, whereas a significant difference is obtained with the non-local constitutive relation. Finally, it is shown that the applied stress state required to activate plastic deformation at the void is up...

  19. Liquid crystalline biopolymers: A new arena for liquid crystal research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rizvi, Tasneem Zahra

    2001-07-01

    This paper gives a brief introduction to liquid crystals on the basis of biopolymers and reviews literature on liquid crystalline behaviour of biopolymers both in vitro and in vivo in relation to their implications in the fields of biology, medicine and material science. Knowledge in the field of biological liquid crystals is crucial for understanding complex phenomena at supramolecular level which will give information about processes involved in biological organization and function. The understanding of the interaction of theses crystals with electric, magnetic, optical and thermal fields will uncover mechanisms of near quantum-energy detection capabilities of biosystems

  20. Chromatic dispersion of liquid crystal infiltrated capillary tubes and photonic crystal fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Per Dalgaard; Lægsgaard, Jesper; Bang, Ole

    2006-01-01

    We consider chromatic dispersion of capillary tubes and photonic crystal fibers infiltrated with liquid crystals. A perturbative scheme for inclusion of material dispersion of both liquid crystal and the surrounding waveguide material is derived. The method is used to calculate the chromatic...

  1. Liquid crystals for organic transistors (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanna, Jun-ichi; Iino, Hiroaki

    2016-09-01

    Liquid crystals are a new type of organic semiconductors exhibiting molecular orientation in self-organizing manner, and have high potential for device applications. In fact, various device applications have been proposed so far, including photosensors, solar cells, light emitting diodes, field effect transistors, and so on.. However, device performance in those fabricated with liquid crystals is less than those of devices fabricated with conventional materials in spite of unique features of liquid crystals. Here we discuss how we can utilize the liquid crystallinity in organic transistors and how we can overcome conventional non-liquid crystalline organic transistor materials. Then, we demonstrate high performance organic transistors fabricated with a smectic E liquid crystal of Ph-BTBT-10, which show high mobility of over 10cm2/Vs and high thermal durability of over 200oC in OFETs fabricated with its spin-coated polycrystalline thin films.

  2. Stacking fault tetrahedron induced plasticity in copper single crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Liang, E-mail: lz592@uowmail.edu.au [School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522 (Australia); Lu, Cheng, E-mail: chenglu@uow.edu.au [School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522 (Australia); Tieu, Kiet; Su, Lihong; Zhao, Xing [School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522 (Australia); Pei, Linqing [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China)

    2017-01-05

    Stacking fault tetrahedron (SFT) is the most common type of vacancy clustered defects in fcc metals and alloys, and can play an important role in the mechanical properties of metallic materials. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out to investigate the incipience of plasticity and the underlying atomic mechanisms in copper single crystals with SFT. Different deformation mechanisms of SFT were reported due to the crystal orientations and loading directions (compression and tension). The results showed that the incipient plasticity in crystals with SFT resulted from the heterogeneous dislocation nucleation from SFT, so the stress required for plastic deformation was less than that needed for perfect single crystals. Three crystal orientations ([1 0 0], [1 1 0] and [1 1 1]) were specified in this study because they can represent most of the typical deformation mechanisms of SFT. MD simulations revealed that the structural transformation of SFT was frequent under the applied loading; a metastable SFT structure and the collapse of SFT were usually observed. The structural transformation resulted in a different reduction of yield stress in compression and tension, and also caused a decreased or reversed compression/tension asymmetry. Compressive stress can result in the unfaulting of Frank loop in some crystal orientations. According to the elastic theory of dislocation, the process of unfaulting was closely related to the size of the dislocation loop and the stacking fault energy.

  3. Chem I Supplement: Liquid Crystals--The Chameleon Chemicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Glenn H.

    1983-01-01

    Presents information relevant to everyday life so as to stimulate student interest in the properties of the two basic types of liquid crystals: thermotropic and lyotropic. Describes the applications of liquid crystals to electronics, biomedicine, and polymer science and appraises the future of liquid crystal research. (JM)

  4. Strong dielectric liquid crystal polymer (Part 3)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurata, Hideaki; Shibasaki, Akira

    1988-11-01

    Influence of change of molecular parameters on liquid crystal condition is studied to get the correlation between molecular structure of liquid crystal and phase structure or visco-elastic properties. Eight kinds of biphenyl type liquid crystals with polyacrilate main chain and triphenyl type liquid crystals were used as samples. Followings were found by a ploarizing microscope and X-ray diffraction: Phases are transferred from isotropic phase S/sub A/ phase S/sup *//sub C/ phase S/sub 1/ phase to solid on temperature desending sequence. Degree of polymerization changes only these transfer point but spacer length affects not only transfer points and layer distance but also liquid crystal structure itself. Visco-elasticity of isotropic phase shows Newtonian viscosity and is affected by the main chain length. Macroscopic and microscopic structures influence on viscoelasticity in S/sub A/ phase and S/sup *//sub C/ phase. Two rapid rises of viscoelasticity are found in low molecular weight liquid crystal when S/sub A/ transfer and S/sub A/ to S/sup *//sub C/ transfer occur by temperature desending from the isotropic phase. Viscoelastic behavior is contributed by the properties of domain itself and interaction between domains, and the interaction is changed by polymerization. 6 references, 13 figures, 1 table.

  5. Liquid crystals of carbon nanotubes and graphene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zakri, Cécile; Blanc, Christophe; Grelet, Eric; Zamora-Ledezma, Camilo; Puech, Nicolas; Anglaret, Eric; Poulin, Philippe

    2013-04-13

    Liquid crystal ordering is an opportunity to develop novel materials and applications with spontaneously aligned nanotubes or graphene particles. Nevertheless, achieving high orientational order parameter and large monodomains remains a challenge. In addition, our restricted knowledge of the structure of the currently available materials is a limitation for fundamental studies and future applications. This paper presents recent methodologies that have been developed to achieve large monodomains of nematic liquid crystals. These allow quantification and increase of their order parameters. Nematic ordering provides an efficient way to prepare conductive films that exhibit anisotropic properties. In particular, it is shown how the electrical conductivity anisotropy increases with the order parameter of the nematic liquid crystal. The order parameter can be tuned by controlling the length and entanglement of the nanotubes. In the second part of the paper, recent results on graphene liquid crystals are reported. The possibility to obtain water-based liquid crystals stabilized by surfactant molecules is demonstrated. Structural and thermodynamic characterizations provide indirect but statistical information on the dimensions of the graphene flakes. From a general point of view, this work presents experimental approaches to optimize the use of nanocarbons as liquid crystals and provides new methodologies for the still challenging characterization of such materials.

  6. Phase-Shifting Liquid Crystal Interferometers for Microgravity Fluid Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffin, DeVon W.; Marshall, Keneth L.

    2002-01-01

    The initial focus of this project was to eliminate both of these problems in the Liquid Crystal Point-Diffraction Interferometer (LCPDI). Progress toward that goal will be described, along with the demonstration of a phase shifting Liquid Crystal Shearing Interferometer (LCSI) that was developed as part of this work. The latest LCPDI, other than a lens to focus the light from a test section onto a diffracting microsphere within the interferometer and a collimated laser for illumination, the pink region contained within the glass plates on the rod-mounted platform is the complete interferometer. The total width is approximately 1.5 inches with 0.25 inches on each side for bonding the electrical leads. It is 1 inch high and there are only four diffracting microspheres within the interferometer. As a result, it is very easy to align, achieving the first goal. The liquid crystal electro-optical response time is a function of layer thickness, with thinner devices switching faster due to a reduction in long-range viscoelastic forces between the LC molecules. The LCPDI has a liquid crystal layer thickness of 10 microns, which is controlled by plastic or glass microspheres embedded in epoxy 'pads' at the corners of the device. The diffracting spheres are composed of polystyrene/divinyl benzene polymer with an initial diameter of 15 microns. The spheres deform slightly when the interferometer is assembled to conform to the spacing produced by the microsphere-filled epoxy spacer pads. While the speed of this interferometer has not yet been tested, previous LCPDIs fabricated at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics switched at a rate of approximately 3.3 Hz, a factor of 10 slower than desired. We anticipate better performance when the speed of these interferometers is tested since they are approximately three times thinner. Phase shifting in these devices is a function of the AC voltage level applied to the liquid crystal. As the voltage increases, the dye in the liquid crystal

  7. Lasing in liquid crystal thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palto, S. P. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation)], E-mail: palto@online.ru

    2006-09-15

    A lasing condition is formulated in matrix form for optically anisotropic thin films. Lasing behavior of liquid-crystal slabs is analyzed. In particular, it is shown that if the spatial extent of a liquid crystal slab is much larger than its thickness, then laser emission is feasible not only along the normal to the slab, but also in the entire angular sector. The generated laser light can be observed experimentally as a spot or as concentric rings on a screen. The lowest lasing threshold corresponds to in-plane sliding modes leaking into the substrate. The feedback required for lasing is provided by reflection from the interfaces, rather than edges, of the liquid-crystal slab operating as a planar Fabry-Perot cavity. For cholesteric liquid crystals, it is shown that energy loss to the sliding modes leaking into the substrates and escaping through their edges is a key factor that limits the efficiency of band-edge emission along the normal to the slab.

  8. Energetic dislocation interactions and thermodynamical aspects of strain gradient crystal plasticity theories

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ertürk, I.; Dommelen, van J.A.W.; Geers, M.G.D.

    2009-01-01

    This paper focuses on the unification of two frequently used and apparently different strain gradient crystal plasticity frameworks: (i) the physicallymotivated strain gradient crystal plasticity models proposed by Evers et al. (2004a,b) and Bayley et al. (2006, 2007) (here referred to as

  9. Ionic Liquid Crystals: Versatile Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goossens, Karel; Lava, Kathleen; Bielawski, Christopher W; Binnemans, Koen

    2016-04-27

    This Review covers the recent developments (2005-2015) in the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals. It was designed to give a comprehensive overview of the "state-of-the-art" in the field. The discussion is focused on low molar mass and dendrimeric thermotropic ionic mesogens, as well as selected metal-containing compounds (metallomesogens), but some references to polymeric and/or lyotropic ionic liquid crystals and particularly to ionic liquids will also be provided. Although zwitterionic and mesoionic mesogens are also treated to some extent, emphasis will be directed toward liquid-crystalline materials consisting of organic cations and organic/inorganic anions that are not covalently bound but interact via electrostatic and other noncovalent interactions.

  10. Electrically Tuned Microwave Devices Using Liquid Crystal Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pouria Yaghmaee

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available An overview of liquid crystal technology for microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies is presented. The potential of liquid crystals as reconfigurable materials arises from their ability for continuous tuning with low power consumption, transparency, and possible integration with printed and flexible circuit technologies. This paper describes physical theory and fundamental electrical properties arising from the anisotropy of liquid crystals and overviews selected realized liquid crystal devices, throughout four main categories: resonators and filters, phase shifters and delay lines, antennas, and, finally, frequency-selective surfaces and metamaterials.

  11. The influence of polycarboxylate-type super-plasticizers on alkali-free liquid concrete accelerators performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Wenkang; Yin, Haibo; Wang, Shuyin; He, Zhifeng

    2017-04-01

    Through studying on the setting times, cement mortar compressive strength and cement mortar compressive strength ratio, the influence of alkali-free liquid accelerators polycarboxylate-type super-plasticizers on the performance of alkali-free liquid accelerators in cement-based material was investigated. The results showed that the compatibility of super-plasticizers and alkali-free liquid accelerators was excellent. However, the dosage of super-plasticizers had a certain impact on the performance of alkali-free liquid accelerators as follows: 1) the setting times of alkali-free liquid accelerators was in the inverse proportional relationship to the dosage of super-plasticizers; 2)the influence of super-plasticizers dosage on the cement mortar compressive strength of alkali-free liquid accelerators was related to the types of accelerators, where exist an optimum super-plasticizers dosage for cement mortar compressive strength at 28d; 3)the later cement mortar compressive strength with alkali-free liquid accelerators were decreasing with the increment of the super-plasticizers dosage. In the practical application of alkali-free liquid accelerators and super-plasticizer, the dosage of super-plasticizer must be determined by dosage optimization test results.

  12. Photonics of liquid-crystal structures: A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palto, S. P., E-mail: palto@online.ru; Blinov, L M; Barnik, M I; Lazarev, V V; Umanskii, B A; Shtykov, N M [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation)

    2011-07-15

    The original results of studies of the electro-optical and laser effects which have been performed at the Laboratory of Liquid Crystals of the Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, over the last few years are reviewed. Cholesteric liquid crystals as vivid representatives of photonic structures and their behavior in an electric field are considered in detail. The formation of higher harmonics in the periodic distribution of the director field in a helical liquid crystal structure and, correspondingly, the new (anharmonic) mode of electro-optical effects are discussed. Another group of studies is devoted to bistable light switching by an electric field in chiral nematics. Polarization diffraction gratings controlled by an electric field are also considered. The results of studies devoted to microlasers on various photonic structures with cholesteric and nematic liquid crystals are considered in detail. Particular attention is given to the new regime: leaky-mode lasing. Designs of liquid crystal light amplifiers and their polarization, field, and spectral characteristics are considered in the last section.

  13. Demonstrations with a Liquid Crystal Shutter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraftmakher, Yaakov

    2012-01-01

    The experiments presented show the response of a liquid crystal shutter to applied electric voltages and the delay of the operations. Both properties are important for liquid crystal displays of computers and television sets. Two characteristics of the shutter are determined: (i) the optical transmittance versus applied voltage of various…

  14. Control of liquid crystal molecular orientation using ultrasound vibration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taniguchi, Satoki [Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, 1-3 Tataramiyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0321 (Japan); Wave Electronics Research Center, Doshisha University, 1-3 Tataramiyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0321 (Japan); Koyama, Daisuke; Matsukawa, Mami [Wave Electronics Research Center, Doshisha University, 1-3 Tataramiyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0321 (Japan); Faculty of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University, 1-3 Tataramiyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0321 (Japan); Shimizu, Yuki; Emoto, Akira [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University, 1-3 Tataramiyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0321 (Japan); Nakamura, Kentaro [Precision and Intelligence Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259-R2-26, Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan)

    2016-03-07

    We propose a technique to control the orientation of nematic liquid crystals using ultrasound and investigate the optical characteristics of the oriented samples. An ultrasonic liquid crystal cell with a thickness of 5–25 μm and two ultrasonic lead zirconate titanate transducers was fabricated. By exciting the ultrasonic transducers, the flexural vibration modes were generated on the cell. An acoustic radiation force to the liquid crystal layer was generated, changing the molecular orientation and thus the light transmission. By modulating the ultrasonic driving frequency and voltage, the spatial distribution of the molecular orientation of the liquid crystals could be controlled. The distribution of the transmitted light intensity depends on the thickness of the liquid crystal layer because the acoustic field in the liquid crystal layer is changed by the orientational film.

  15. Alignment technology and applications of liquid crystal devices

    CERN Document Server

    Takatoh, Kohki; Hasegawa, Ray; Koden, Mitsushiro; Itoh, Nobuyuki; Hasegawa, Masaki

    2005-01-01

    Alignment phenomena are characteristic of liquid crystalline materials, and understanding them is critically important in understanding the essential features and behavior of liquid crystals and the performance of Liquid Crystal Devices (LCDs). Furthermore, in LCD production lines, the alignment process is of practical importance. Alignment Technologies and Applications of Liquid Crystal Devices demonstrates both the fundamental and practical aspects of alignment phenomena in liquid crystals. The physical basis of alignment phenomena is first introduced in order to aid the understanding of the various physical phenomena observed in the interface between liquid crystalline materials and alignment layer surfaces. Methods for the characterization of surfaces, which induce the alignment phenomena, and of the alignment layer itself are introduced. These methods are useful for the research of liquid crystalline materials and devices in academic research as well as in industry. In the practical sections, the alignme...

  16. Application of liquid crystals in thermal nondestructive evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panakal, J.P.; Mukherjee, S.; Ghosh, J.K.

    1983-01-01

    In recent years, thermal nondestructive evaluation using Cholestric liquid crystals have found wide applications in industry. Thermography using Cholesteric liquid crystals can be used for detection of nonbonds in metallic composites, hot spots in electronic circuits and preliminary examination of welded pressure vessels. This paper presents the results of experiments on thermography of components using encapsulated liquid crystals. (author)

  17. Quantum Dot/Liquid Crystal Nanocomposites in Photonic Devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea L. Rodarte

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Quantum dot/liquid crystal nano-composites are promising new materials for a variety of applications in energy harvesting, displays and photonics including the liquid crystal laser. To realize many applications, however, we need to control and stabilize nano-particle dispersion in different liquid crystal host phases and understand how the particles behave in an anisotropic fluid. An ideal system will allow for the controlled assembly of either well-defined nano-particle clusters or a uniform particle distribution. In this paper, we investigate mesogen-functionalized quantum dots for dispersion in cholesteric liquid crystal. These nanoparticles are known to assemble into dense stable packings in the nematic phase, and such structures, when localized in the liquid crystal defects, can potentially enhance the coupling between particles and a cholesteric cavity. Controlling the dispersion and assembly of quantum dots using mesogenic surface ligands, we demonstrate how resonant fluid photonic cavities can result from the co-assembly of luminescent nanoparticles in the presence of cholesteric liquid crystalline ordering.

  18. Stress and strain fluctuations in plastic deformation of crystals with disordered microstructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kapetanou, O; Zaiser, M; Weygand, D

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the spatial structure of stress and strain patterns in crystal plasticity. To this end, we combine theoretical arguments with plasticity simulations using three different models: (i) a generic model of bulk crystal plasticity with stochastic evolution of the local microstructure, (ii) a 2D discrete dislocation simulation assuming single-slip deformation in a bulk crystal, and (iii) a 3D discrete dislocation model for deformation of micropillars in multiple slip. For all three models we investigate the scale-dependent magnitude of local fluctuations of internal stress and plastic strain, and we determine the spatial structure of the respective auto- and cross-correlation functions. The investigations show that, in the course of deformation, nontrivial long range correlations emerge in the stress and strain patterns. We investigate the influence of boundary conditions on the observed spatial patterns of stress and strain, and discuss implications of our findings for larger-scale plasticity models. (paper)

  19. Modified dynamical equation for dye doped nematic liquid crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Manohar, Rajiv, E-mail: rajlu1@rediffmail.co [Liquid Crystal Research Lab, Physics Department, University of Lucknow, Lucknow 226007 (India); Misra, Abhishek Kumar; Srivastava, Abhishek Kumar [Liquid Crystal Research Lab, Physics Department, University of Lucknow, Lucknow 226007 (India)

    2010-04-15

    Dye doped liquid crystals show changed dielectric properties in comparison to pure liquid crystals. These changes are strongly dependent on the concentration of dye. In the present work we have measured dielectric properties of standard nematic liquid crystals E-24 and its two guest host mixtures of different concentrations with Anthraquinone dye D5. The experimental results are fitted using linear response and in the light of this we have proposed some modifications in the dynamical equation for the nematic liquid crystals by introducing two new variables as dye concentration coefficients. The limitations of the proposed equation in high temperature range have also been discussed. With the help of the proposed dynamical equation for the guest-host liquid crystals (GHLCs) it is possible to predict the various parameters like rotational viscosity, dielectric anisotropy and relaxation time for GHLCs at other concentrations of dye in liquid crystals theoretically.

  20. Nanoscience with liquid crystals from self-organized nanostructures to applications

    CERN Document Server

    Li, Quan

    2014-01-01

    This book focuses on the exciting topic of nanoscience with liquid crystals: from self-organized nanostructures to applications. The elegant self-organized liquid crystalline nanostructures, the synergetic characteristics of liquid crystals and nanoparticles, liquid crystalline nanomaterials, synthesis of nanomaterials using liquid crystals as templates, nanoconfinement and nanoparticles of liquid crystals are covered and discussed, and the prospect of fabricating functional materials is highlighted. Contributions, collecting the scattered literature of the field from leading and active player

  1. Liquid crystal dimers

    CERN Document Server

    Kumar Pal, Santanu

    2017-01-01

    This book covers in-depth discussion of design principles, synthesis and thermal behavior of all types of liquid crystal (LC) dimers. The text presents recent advances in the field of LC dimers consisting of different mesogenic units such as calamitic, discotic and bent-core molecules. It starts with a chapter on the introduction of liquid crystal dimers, including their odd-even behavior, basic classification of dimers and common mesophases in dimers. The text shows how the molecular architectures are being used to develop new materials to study a range of interesting phenomena such as the biaxial nematic phase containing rod-like and disc-like mesogenic units. Finally, the text presents perspectives related to technological relevance of these dimers such as dopants in LC display mixtures exhibiting faster relaxation time, strong flexoelectric coupling and others to effect control over the properties of these materials.

  2. Liquid crystals: high technology materials for potential applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saeed, M.A.; Badaruddin; Rizvi, T.Z.

    1993-01-01

    Liquid crystals have very rapidly emerged as a basis of many high technology fields within the last few decades. These materials because of their intriguing physical properties are regarded as the fourth state of matter. At present the applications of liquid crystals are established in digital display devices, electro-optical switches, optical computing, acousto-optics, thermo-indicators, laser thermo-recording, photo-chemical image recording and optical communication networks. More recently due to the concept of molecularly based electronics (MBE): the logical extreme for miniaturization of electronic device, liquid crystals are foreseen to play a vital role in the future optics based technologies. This paper gives a brief introduction to liquid crystals, the types of meso phases found in these materials together with their applications in research and industry. Some technical details of the construction liquid crystal cells for some typical applications in digital displays and other electro optical devices have also been discussed with special emphasis on relevant physical processes occurring at molecular level. (author)

  3. Insertion of liquid crystal molecules into hydrocarbon monolayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Popov, Piotr, E-mail: ppopov@kent.edu; Mann, Elizabeth K. [Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242 (United States); Lacks, Daniel J. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (United States); Jákli, Antal [Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242-0001 (United States)

    2014-08-07

    Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to investigate the molecular mechanisms of vertical surface alignment of liquid crystals. We study the insertion of nCB (4-Cyano-4{sup ′}-n-biphenyl) molecules with n = 0,…,6 into a bent-core liquid crystal monolayer that was recently found to provide good vertical alignment for liquid crystals. The results suggest a complex-free energy landscape for the liquid crystal within the layer. The preferred insertion direction of the nCB molecules (core or tail first) varies with n, which can be explained by entropic considerations. The role of the dipole moments was found to be negligible. As vertical alignment is the leading form of present day liquid crystal displays (LCD), these results will help guide improvement of the LCD technology, as well as lend insight into the more general problem of insertion of biological and other molecules into lipid and surfactant layers.

  4. All-optical image processing with nonlinear liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Kuan-Lun

    Liquid crystals are fascinating materials because of several advantages such as large optical birefringence, dielectric anisotropic, and easily compatible to most kinds of materials. Compared to the electro-optical properties of liquid crystals widely applied in displays and switching application, transparency through most parts of wavelengths also makes liquid crystals a better candidate for all-optical processing. The fast response time of liquid crystals resulting from multiple nonlinear effects, such as thermal and density effect can even make real-time processing realized. In addition, blue phase liquid crystals with spontaneously self-assembled three dimensional cubic structures attracted academic attention. In my dissertation, I will divide the whole contents into six parts. In Chapter 1, a brief introduction of liquid crystals is presented, including the current progress and the classification of liquid crystals. Anisotropy and laser induced director axis reorientation is presented in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, I will solve the electrostrictive coupled equation and analyze the laser induced thermal and density effect in both static and dynamic ways. Furthermore, a dynamic simulation of laser induced density fluctuation is proposed by applying finite element method. In Chapter 4, two image processing setups are presented. One is the intensity inversion experiment in which intensity dependent phase modulation is the mechanism. The other is the wavelength conversion experiment in which I can read the invisible image with a visible probe beam. Both experiments are accompanied with simulations to realize the matching between the theories and practical experiment results. In Chapter 5, optical properties of blue phase liquid crystals will be introduced and discussed. The results of grating diffractions and thermal refractive index gradient are presented in this chapter. In addition, fiber arrays imaging and switching with BPLCs will be included in this chapter

  5. Electrically tunable liquid crystal photonic bandgap fiber laser

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olausson, Christina Bjarnal Thulin; Scolari, Lara; Wei, Lei

    2010-01-01

    We demonstrate electrical tunability of a fiber laser by using a liquid crystal photonic bandgap fiber. Tuning of the laser is achieved by combining the wavelength filtering effect of a liquid crystal photonic bandgap fiber device with an ytterbium-doped photonic crystal fiber. We fabricate an al...

  6. Microcrystalline silicon growth by low laser energy crystallization on a plastic substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, D. Y.; Seo, C. K.; Shim, M. S.; Kim, C. H.; Yi, J.

    2004-01-01

    We are reporting the crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si) using a XeCl excimer laser treatment. Although polycarbonate (PC) plastic substrates are very weak at high temperatures of more than 150 .deg. C, they are very useful for applications to microelectronics because of light weight, high transmittance, and flexibility. In order to crystallize a-Si films on plastic substrates, we suggest that a CeO 2 seed layer will be very helpful at a low laser energy density. The seed layer is deposited at room temperature by rf using magnetron sputtering. A seed layer deposition method will be also presented in detail in this article. We compare a-Si crytallization without a seed layer with one with a seed layer deposited between the a-Si and the plastic substrate. The a-Si was deposited on the plastic substrate by using inductively coupled plasma Chemical-Vapor Deposition (ICPCVD) at the room temperature. In this paper, we will present the crystallization properties of a-Si with and without a CeO 2 seed layer on the plastic substrate.

  7. Microwave modulation characteristics of twisted liquid crystals with chiral dopant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Yuan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Adding a chiral dopant in twisted nematic (TN liquid crystal cell can stabilize the orientation of liquid crystal molecules, particularly in high TN (HTN or super TN (STN liquid crystal cells. The difference in pitches in liquid crystal is induced by the chiral dopant, and these different pitches affect the orientation of liquid crystal director under an external applied voltage and influence the characteristics of microwave modulation. To illustrate this point, the microwave phase shift per unit length (MPSL versus voltage is calculated on the basis of the elastic theory of liquid crystal and the finite-difference iterative method. Enhancing the pitch induced by the chiral dopant in liquid crystal increases the MPSLs, but the stability of the twisted structures is decreased. Thus, appropriate pitches of 100d, 4d, and 2d can be applied in TN, HTN, and STN cells with cell gap d to enhance the characteristics of microwave modulation and stabilize the structures in twisted cell. This method can improve the characteristics of liquid crystal microwave modulators such that the operating voltage and the size of such phase shifters can be decreased.

  8. Liquid crystal parameter analysis for tunable photonic bandgap fiber devices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weirich, Johannes; Lægsgaard, Jesper; Wei, Lei

    2010-01-01

    We investigate the tunability of splay-aligned liquid crystals for the use in solid core photonic crystal fibers. Finite element simulations are used to obtain the alignment of the liquid crystals subject to an external electric field. By means of the liquid crystal director field the optical...

  9. New scintillating media based on liquid crystals for particle detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnik, M.I.; Yudin, S.G.; Vasil'chenko, V.G.; Golovkin, S.V.; Medvedkov, A.M.; Solovjev, A.S.

    2000-01-01

    The study results of optical, photoluminiscent and scintillation properties of a liquid crystal 4-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl are presented. The scintillation light output of this liquid crystal is about 35% of crystal anthracene, its main decay time constants are 4 and 14 ns, and the maximum of light emission spectrum is about 400 nm. The light output of a dissolution of green emitting light scintillation dopant R6 in the liquid crystal is about 120% of crystal anthracene. The light output of the frozen dissolution measured at -112 deg. C is about 2.5 times higher as observed at +20 deg. C. In the uniaxially oriented liquid crystal, the predominant intensity direction of emitted light is pointed perpendicular to the liquid crystal director and an appreciable part of the emitted light is elliptically polarized. The possibility to use scintillation properties of liquid crystals is considered both for the improvement of existing particle detector characteristics and for the creation of new gated particle detectors

  10. New scintillating media based on liquid crystals for particle detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Barnik, M I; Vasilchenko, V G; Golovkin, S V; Medvedkov, A M; Soloviev, A S

    2000-01-01

    The study results of optical, photoluminiscent and scintillation properties of a liquid crystal 4-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl are presented. The scintillation light output of this liquid crystal is about 35% of crystal anthracene, its main decay time constants are 4 and 14 ns, and the maximum of light emission spectrum is about 400 nm. The light output of a dissolution of green emitting light scintillation dopant R6 in the liquid crystal is about 120% of crystal anthracene. The light output of the frozen dissolution measured at -112 deg. C is about 2.5 times higher as observed at +20 deg. C. In the uniaxially oriented liquid crystal, the predominant intensity direction of emitted light is pointed perpendicular to the liquid crystal director and an appreciable part of the emitted light is elliptically polarized. The possibility to use scintillation properties of liquid crystals is considered both for the improvement of existing particle detector characteristics and for the creation of new gated particle detectors.

  11. The Prism Plastic Calorimeter (PPC)

    CERN Multimedia

    2002-01-01

    This proposal supports two goals: \\\\ \\\\ First goal:~~Demonstrate that current, widely used plastic technologies allow to design Prism Plastic Calorimeter~(PPC) towers with a new ``liquid crystal'' type plastic called Vectra. It will be shown that this technique meets the requirements for a LHC calorimeter with warm liquids: safety, hermeticity, hadronic compensation, resolution and time response. \\\\ \\\\ Second goal:~~Describe how one can design a warm liquid calorimeter integrated into a LHC detector and to list the advantages of the PPC: low price, minimum of mechanical structures, minimum of dead space, easiness of mechanical assembly, accessibility to the electronics, possibility to recirculate the liquid. The absorber and the electronic being outside of the liquid and easily accessible, one has maximum flexibility to define them. \\\\ \\\\ The R&D program, we define here aims at showing the feasibility of these new ideas by building nine towers of twenty gaps and exposing them to electron and hadron beams.

  12. Large three-dimensional photonic crystals based on monocrystalline liquid crystal blue phases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chun-Wei; Hou, Chien-Tsung; Li, Cheng-Chang; Jau, Hung-Chang; Wang, Chun-Ta; Hong, Ching-Lang; Guo, Duan-Yi; Wang, Cheng-Yu; Chiang, Sheng-Ping; Bunning, Timothy J; Khoo, Iam-Choon; Lin, Tsung-Hsien

    2017-09-28

    Although there have been intense efforts to fabricate large three-dimensional photonic crystals in order to realize their full potential, the technologies developed so far are still beset with various material processing and cost issues. Conventional top-down fabrications are costly and time-consuming, whereas natural self-assembly and bottom-up fabrications often result in high defect density and limited dimensions. Here we report the fabrication of extraordinarily large monocrystalline photonic crystals by controlling the self-assembly processes which occur in unique phases of liquid crystals that exhibit three-dimensional photonic-crystalline properties called liquid-crystal blue phases. In particular, we have developed a gradient-temperature technique that enables three-dimensional photonic crystals to grow to lateral dimensions of ~1 cm (~30,000 of unit cells) and thickness of ~100 μm (~ 300 unit cells). These giant single crystals exhibit extraordinarily sharp photonic bandgaps with high reflectivity, long-range periodicity in all dimensions and well-defined lattice orientation.Conventional fabrication approaches for large-size three-dimensional photonic crystals are problematic. By properly controlling the self-assembly processes, the authors report the fabrication of monocrystalline blue phase liquid crystals that exhibit three-dimensional photonic-crystalline properties.

  13. Liquid Crystals for Nondestructive Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    1978-09-01

    polarizers (e.g., where p is the distance of alignment or pitch, X is the Nicol, Rochon, and Wollaston prisms ) are based upon peak wavelength of scattered...RANGE OF so 45" 45 - EVENT SEVENT T(°C) TEMPERATUJRE TC)4"TEMPERATURE 40RANGE OF T(°) 0-RANGE OF 40LIQUID ’ ൫" CRYSTAL S 36 3S. 30 0 IS 90 180 - I...Temperatures TI > T2 > - > TS defects was possible using the liquid crystal. are the Average TemperatursI Thes Resptivegi. Kapfer , Burns, Salvo, and Doyle

  14. Liquid crystals in micron-scale droplets, shells and fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urbanski, Martin; Reyes, Catherine G.; Noh, JungHyun; Sharma, Anshul; Geng, Yong; Subba Rao Jampani, Venkata; Lagerwall, Jan P. F.

    2017-04-01

    The extraordinary responsiveness and large diversity of self-assembled structures of liquid crystals are well documented and they have been extensively used in devices like displays. For long, this application route strongly influenced academic research, which frequently focused on the performance of liquid crystals in display-like geometries, typically between flat, rigid substrates of glass or similar solids. Today a new trend is clearly visible, where liquid crystals confined within curved, often soft and flexible, interfaces are in focus. Innovation in microfluidic technology has opened for high-throughput production of liquid crystal droplets or shells with exquisite monodispersity, and modern characterization methods allow detailed analysis of complex director arrangements. The introduction of electrospinning in liquid crystal research has enabled encapsulation in optically transparent polymeric cylinders with very small radius, allowing studies of confinement effects that were not easily accessible before. It also opened the prospect of functionalizing textile fibers with liquid crystals in the core, triggering activities that target wearable devices with true textile form factor for seamless integration in clothing. Together, these developments have brought issues center stage that might previously have been considered esoteric, like the interaction of topological defects on spherical surfaces, saddle-splay curvature-induced spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, or the non-trivial shape changes of curved liquid crystal elastomers with non-uniform director fields that undergo a phase transition to an isotropic state. The new research thrusts are motivated equally by the intriguing soft matter physics showcased by liquid crystals in these unconventional geometries, and by the many novel application opportunities that arise when we can reproducibly manufacture these systems on a commercial scale. This review attempts to summarize the current understanding of

  15. Liquid crystals in micron-scale droplets, shells and fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Urbanski, Martin; Reyes, Catherine G; Noh, JungHyun; Sharma, Anshul; Geng, Yong; Subba Rao Jampani, Venkata; Lagerwall, Jan P F

    2017-01-01

    The extraordinary responsiveness and large diversity of self-assembled structures of liquid crystals are well documented and they have been extensively used in devices like displays. For long, this application route strongly influenced academic research, which frequently focused on the performance of liquid crystals in display-like geometries, typically between flat, rigid substrates of glass or similar solids. Today a new trend is clearly visible, where liquid crystals confined within curved, often soft and flexible, interfaces are in focus. Innovation in microfluidic technology has opened for high-throughput production of liquid crystal droplets or shells with exquisite monodispersity, and modern characterization methods allow detailed analysis of complex director arrangements. The introduction of electrospinning in liquid crystal research has enabled encapsulation in optically transparent polymeric cylinders with very small radius, allowing studies of confinement effects that were not easily accessible before. It also opened the prospect of functionalizing textile fibers with liquid crystals in the core, triggering activities that target wearable devices with true textile form factor for seamless integration in clothing. Together, these developments have brought issues center stage that might previously have been considered esoteric, like the interaction of topological defects on spherical surfaces, saddle-splay curvature-induced spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, or the non-trivial shape changes of curved liquid crystal elastomers with non-uniform director fields that undergo a phase transition to an isotropic state. The new research thrusts are motivated equally by the intriguing soft matter physics showcased by liquid crystals in these unconventional geometries, and by the many novel application opportunities that arise when we can reproducibly manufacture these systems on a commercial scale. This review attempts to summarize the current understanding of

  16. Tunable photoluminescence of porous silicon by liquid crystal infiltration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Qinglan; Xiong Rui; Huang Yuanming

    2011-01-01

    The photoluminescence (PL) of porous silicon films has been investigated as a function of the amount of liquid crystal molecules that are infiltrated into the constricted geometry of the porous silicon films. A typical nematic liquid crystal 4-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl was employed in our experiment as the filler to modify the PL of porous silicon. It is found that the originally red PL of porous silicon films can be tuned to blue by simply adjusting the amount of liquid crystal molecules in the microchannels of the porous films. The chromaticity coordinates are calculated for the recorded PL spectra. The mechanism of the tunable PL is discussed. Our results have demonstrated that the luminescent properties of porous silicon films can be efficiently tuned by liquid crystal infiltration. - Highlights: → Liquid crystal infiltration can tune the photoluminescence of porous silicon. → Red emission of porous silicon can be switched to blue by the infiltration. → Chromaticity coordinates are calculated for the tuned emissions. → White emission is realized for porous silicon by liquid crystal infiltration.

  17. Liquid Crystals in Tribology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María-Dolores Bermúdez

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Two decades ago, the literature dealing with the possible applications of low molar mass liquid crystals, also called monomer liquid crystals (MLCs, only included about 50 references. Today, thousands of papers, conference reports, books or book chapters and patents refer to the study and applications of MLCs as lubricants and lubricant additives and efforts are made to develop new commercial applications. The development of more efficient lubricants is of paramount technological and economic relevance as it is estimated that half the energy consumption is dissipated as friction. MLCs have shown their ability to form ordered boundary layers with good load-carrying capacity and to lower the friction coefficients, wear rates and contact temperature of sliding surfaces, thus contributing to increase the components service life and to save energy. This review includes the use of MLCs in lubrication, and dispersions of MLCs in conventional polymers (PDMLCs. Finally, new lubricating system composed of MLC blends with surfactants, ionic liquids or nanophases are considered.

  18. Liquid crystals in tribology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrión, Francisco-José; Martínez-Nicolás, Ginés; Iglesias, Patricia; Sanes, José; Bermúdez, María-Dolores

    2009-09-18

    Two decades ago, the literature dealing with the possible applications of low molar mass liquid crystals, also called monomer liquid crystals (MLCs), only included about 50 references. Today, thousands of papers, conference reports, books or book chapters and patents refer to the study and applications of MLCs as lubricants and lubricant additives and efforts are made to develop new commercial applications. The development of more efficient lubricants is of paramount technological and economic relevance as it is estimated that half the energy consumption is dissipated as friction. MLCs have shown their ability to form ordered boundary layers with good load-carrying capacity and to lower the friction coefficients, wear rates and contact temperature of sliding surfaces, thus contributing to increase the components service life and to save energy. This review includes the use of MLCs in lubrication, and dispersions of MLCs in conventional polymers (PDMLCs). Finally, new lubricating system composed of MLC blends with surfactants, ionic liquids or nanophases are considered.

  19. Tunable bandpass filter based on photonic crystal fiber filled with multiple liquid crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scolari, Lara; Tartarini, G.; Borelli, E.

    2007-01-01

    A tunable bandpass filter based on a photonic crystal fiber filled with two different liquid crystals is demonstrated. 130 nm bandwidth tunability is achieved by tuning the temperature from 30degC to 90degC.......A tunable bandpass filter based on a photonic crystal fiber filled with two different liquid crystals is demonstrated. 130 nm bandwidth tunability is achieved by tuning the temperature from 30degC to 90degC....

  20. Simulation of liquid crystals. Disclinations and surface modification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Downton, M.

    2001-01-01

    In this thesis we investigate the behaviour of molecular models liquid crystals in several different situations. Basic introductory material on liquid crystals and computer simulations is discussed in the first two chapters, we then discuss the research. The third chapter investigates the interaction between a liquid crystal and a modified surface. A confined system of hard spherocylinders in a slab geometry is examined. The surface consists of planar hard walls with elongated molecules grafted perpendicularly onto them. The concentration of grafted molecules is varied to give different surfaces. Several different behaviours are found including planar, homeotropic and tilted anchorings of the liquid crystal. Molecular dynamics simulations of a nematic liquid crystal in slab geometry with twisted boundary conditions are performed. By arranging the initial configuration suitably it is possible to create a simulation cell with two regions of opposite twist separated by a strength half disclination line. The properties of the line are examined both with and without an applied external field. Finally, we again examine the system of grafted molecules on a flat substrate using an atomistic model of both the liquid crystal and the surface molecules. Again the effect of varying the density of grafted molecules is found to change the anchoring characteristics of the surface; both homeotropic and planar anchorings are observed. (author)

  1. Liquid Crystal photonic Bandgap Fiber Devices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wei, Lei

    In this Ph.D. thesis, an experimental investigation of liquid crystal photonic bandgap (LCPBG) fiber devices and applications is presented. Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) consist of a cladding microstructure with periodic index variations and a core defined by a defect of the structure. The prese......In this Ph.D. thesis, an experimental investigation of liquid crystal photonic bandgap (LCPBG) fiber devices and applications is presented. Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) consist of a cladding microstructure with periodic index variations and a core defined by a defect of the structure...... of each LCPBG fiber. Finally, the applications for LCPBG fiber devices based on the on-chip platform design have been demonstrated in realizing microwave true-time delay and creating an electrically tunable fiber laser. Referatet mailes...

  2. Liquid crystal colloids

    CERN Document Server

    Muševič, Igor

    2017-01-01

    This book brings together the many concepts and discoveries in liquid crystal colloids contributed over the last twenty years and scattered across numerous articles and book chapters. It provides both a historical overview of the development of the field and a clear perspective on the future applications in photonics. The book covers all phenomena observed in liquid crystal colloids with an emphasis on experimental tools and applications of topology in condensed matter, as well as practical micro-photonics applications. It includes a number of spectacular manifestations of new topological phenomena not found or difficult to observe in other systems. Starting from the early works on nematic colloids, it explains the basics of topological defects in ordered media, charge and winding, and the elastic forces between colloidal particles in nematics. Following a detailed description of experimental methods, such as optical tweezing and particle tracking, the book eases the reader into the theoretical part, which de...

  3. Liquid crystals beyond displays chemistry, physics, and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Li, Quan

    2012-01-01

    The chemistry, physics, and applications of liquid crystals beyond LCDs Liquid Crystals (LCs) combine order and mobility on a molecular and supramolecular level. But while these remarkable states of matter are most commonly associated with visual display technologies, they have important applications for a variety of other fields as well. Liquid Crystals Beyond Displays: Chemistry, Physics, and Applications considers these, bringing together cutting-edge research from some of the most promising areas of LC science. Featuring contributions from respected researchers from around the globe, th

  4. Fundamentals of liquid crystal devices

    CERN Document Server

    Yang, Deng-Ke

    2014-01-01

    Revised throughout to cover the latest developments in the fast moving area of display technology, this 2nd edition of Fundamentals of Liquid Crystal Devices, will continue to be a valuable resource for those wishing to understand the operation of liquid crystal displays. Significant updates include new material on display components, 3D LCDs and blue-phase displays which is one of the most promising new technologies within the field of displays and it is expected that this new LC-technology will reduce the response time and the number of optical components of LC-modules. Prof. Yang is a pion

  5. Non-local crystal plasticity model with intrinsic SSD and GND effects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Evers, L.P.; Brekelmans, W.A.M.; Geers, M.G.D.

    2004-01-01

    A strain gradient-dependent crystal plasticity approach is presented to model the constitutive behaviour of polycrystal FCC metals under large plastic deformation. In order to be capable of predicting scale dependence, the heterogeneous deformation-induced evolution and distribution of geometrically

  6. Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals: From viscoelastic properties to living liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Shuang

    Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal (LCLC) represents a broad range of molecules, from organic dyes and drugs to DNA, that self-assemble into linear aggregates in water through face-to-face stacking. These linear aggregates of high aspect ratio are capable of orientational order, forming, for example nematic phase. Since the microscopic properties (such as length) of the chromonic aggregates are results of subtle balance between energy and entropy, the macroscopic viscoelastic properties of the nematic media are sensitive to change of external factors. In the first part of this thesis, by using dynamic light scattering and magnetic Frederiks transition techniques, we study the Frank elastic moduli and viscosity coefficients of LCLC disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) and sunset yellow (SSY) as functions of concentration c , temperature T and ionic contents. The elastic moduli of splay (K1) and bend (K3) are in the order of 10pN, about 10 times larger than the twist modulus (K2). The splay modulus K1 and the ratio K1/K3 both increase substantially as T decreases or c increases, which we attribute to the elongation of linear aggregates at lower T or higher c . The bend viscosity is comparable to that of thermotropic liquid crystals, while the splay and twist viscosities are several orders of magnitude larger, changing exponentially with T . Additional ionic additives into the system influence the viscoelastic properties of these systems in a dramatic and versatile way. For example, monovalent salt NaCl decreases bend modulus K3 and increases twist viscosity, while an elevated pH decreases all the parameters. We attribute these features to the ion-induced changes in length and flexibility of building units of LCLC, the chromonic aggregates, a property not found in conventional thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals form by covalently bound units of fixed length. The second part of the thesis studies a new active bio-mechanical hybrid system called living liquid crystal

  7. Molecular dynamics simulations of liquid crystals at interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shield, Mark

    2002-01-01

    Molecular dynamics simulations of an atomistic model of 4-n-octyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) were performed for thin films of 8CB on solid substrates (a pseudopotential representation of the molecular topography of the (100) crystal surface of polyethylene (PE), a highly ordered atomistic model of a pseudo-crystalline PE surface and an atomistic model of a partially orientated film of PE), free standing thin films of 8CB and 8CB droplets in a hexagonal pit. The systems showed strong homeotropic anchoring at the free volume interface and planar anchoring at the solid interface whose strength was dependent upon the surface present. The free volume interface also demonstrated weak signs of smectic wetting of the bulk. Simulations of thin free standing films of liquid crystals showed the ordered nature of the liquid crystals at the two free volume interfaces can be adopted by the region of liquid crystal molecules between the homeotropic layer at each interface only if there is a certain number of liquid crystal molecules present. The perpendicular anchoring imposed by the free volume interface and the solid interface for the thin films on the solid substrates resulted in some evidence for the liquid crystal director undergoing a continual rotation at low temperatures and a definite discontinuous change at higher temperatures. The liquid crystal alignment imparted by these substrates was found to depend upon the topography of the surface and not the direction of the polymer chains in the substrate. The liquid crystal was found to order via an epitaxy-like mechanism. The perpendicular anchoring results in a drop in the order - disorder transition temperature for the molecules in the region between the homeotropic layer at the free volume interface and the planar layers at the solid interface. An increase in the size of this region does not alter the transition temperature. The shape of the liquid crystal molecules is dependent upon the degree of order and thus the nematic

  8. Liquid crystal display

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takami, K.

    1981-01-01

    An improved liquid crystal display device is described which can display letters, numerals and other necessary patterns in the night time using a minimized amount of radioactive material. To achieve this a self-luminous light source is placed in a limited region corresponding to a specific display area. (U.K.)

  9. Small-angle neutron scattering technique in liquid crystal studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shahidan Radiman

    2005-01-01

    The following topics discussed: general principles of SAS (Small-angle Neutron Scattering), liquid crystals, nanoparticle templating on liquid crystals, examples of SAS results, prospects of this studies

  10. Optical Power Limiting Liquid Crystal Composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-11-10

    materials. In addition to the nonlinear studies, a separate subproject involving linear properties 0 of polymer dispersed liquid crystals in the infrared ...The horizontal axis represents on-axis laser intensity Io, defined as Io = 2P/( ww2 ), where P is the power and u0 is the beam waist. As can be seen in...I * 9 IR Shutter 1 Included in our original contract was a separate project to evaluate the use of liquid crystal composites in infrared shattering

  11. muSR-Investigation of a Liquid Crystal Containing Iron Atoms

    CERN Document Server

    Mamedov, T N; Galyametdinov, Yu G; Gritsaj, K I; Herlach, D; Kormann, O; Major, J V; Rochev, V Ya; Stoikov, A V; Zimmermann, U

    2000-01-01

    The work is devoted to the investigation of properties of a liquid crystal whose molecule contains iron atom. The compounds of this type are of interest from the point of view of obtaining liquid crystals with magnetic properties. The temperature dependence of the polarization and relaxation rate of positive muon spin in the liquid crystal was measured in the temperature range 4-300 K. The results obtained do not contradict the suggestion that the iron ions from an antiferromagnetically-ordered structure in this liquid crystal at the temperatures below 80 K.

  12. Semantic modeling of the structural and process entities during plastic deformation of crystals and rocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babaie, Hassan; Davarpanah, Armita

    2016-04-01

    We are semantically modeling the structural and dynamic process components of the plastic deformation of minerals and rocks in the Plastic Deformation Ontology (PDO). Applying the Ontology of Physics in Biology, the PDO classifies the spatial entities that participate in the diverse processes of plastic deformation into the Physical_Plastic_Deformation_Entity and Nonphysical_Plastic_Deformation_Entity classes. The Material_Physical_Plastic_Deformation_Entity class includes things such as microstructures, lattice defects, atoms, liquid, and grain boundaries, and the Immaterial_Physical_Plastic_Deformation_Entity class includes vacancies in crystals and voids along mineral grain boundaries. The objects under the many subclasses of these classes (e.g., crystal, lattice defect, layering) have spatial parts that are related to each other through taxonomic (e.g., Line_Defect isA Lattice_Defect), structural (mereological, e.g., Twin_Plane partOf Twin), spatial-topological (e.g., Vacancy adjacentTo Atom, Fluid locatedAlong Grain_Boundary), and domain specific (e.g., displaces, Fluid crystallizes Dissolved_Ion, Void existsAlong Grain_Boundary) relationships. The dynamic aspect of the plastic deformation is modeled under the dynamical Process_Entity class that subsumes classes such as Recrystallization and Pressure_Solution that define the flow of energy amongst the physical entities. The values of the dynamical state properties of the physical entities (e.g., Chemical_Potential, Temperature, Particle_Velocity) change while they take part in the deformational processes such as Diffusion and Dislocation_Glide. The process entities have temporal parts (phases) that are related to each other through temporal relations such as precedes, isSubprocessOf, and overlaps. The properties of the physical entities, defined under the Physical_Property class, change as they participate in the plastic deformational processes. The properties are categorized into dynamical, constitutive

  13. Electrically modulated transparent liquid crystal-optical grating projection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buss, Thomas; Smith, Cameron; Kristensen, Anders

    2013-01-01

    A transparent, fully integrated electrically modulated projection technique is presented based on light guiding through a thin liquid crystal layer covering sub-wavelength gratings. The reported device operates at 10 V with response times of 4.5 ms. Analysis of the liquid crystal alignment shows...

  14. Liquid-crystal intraocular adaptive lens with wireless control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Simonov, A.N.; Vdovine, G.V.; Loktev, M.

    2007-01-01

    We present a prototype of an adaptive intraocular lens based on a modal liquid-crystal spatial phase modulator with wireless control. The modal corrector consists of a nematic liquid-crystal layer sandwiched between two glass substrates with transparent low- and high-ohmic electrodes, respectively.

  15. Soap, science, and flat-screen TVs a history of liquid crystals

    CERN Document Server

    Dunmur, David

    2011-01-01

    The terms 'liquid crystal' or 'liquid crystal display' (LCD) are well-known in the context of flat-screen televisions, but the properties and history of liquid crystals are little understood. This book tells the story of liquid crystals, from their controversial discovery at the end of the nineteenth century, to their eventual acceptance as another state of matter to rank alongside gases, liquids and solids. As their story unfolds, the scientists involved and their works are put into illuminating broader socio-political contexts. In recent years, liquid crystals have had a major impact on the display industry, culminating in the now widely available flat-screen televisions; this development is described in detail over three chapters, and the basic science behind it is explained in simple terms accessible to a general reader. New applications of liquid crystals in materials, bio-systems, medicine and technology are also explained.

  16. Large Electro-Optic Kerr-Effect in Ionic Liquid Crystals: Connecting Features of Liquid Crystals and Polyelectrolytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlick, Michael Christian; Kapernaum, Nadia; Neidhardt, Manuel; Wöhrle, Tobias; Stöckl, Yannick; Laschat, Sabine; Gießelmann, Frank

    2018-06-06

    The electro-optic Kerr effect in the isotropic phase of two ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) is investigated and compared to the Kerr effect in non-ionic liquid crystals (LCs) with same phase sequences, namely direct isotropic to hexagonal columnar transitions and direct isotropic to smectic-A transitions. Up to electric field amplitudes of some 106 V m-1, the optical birefringence induced in the isotropic phases follows Kerr's law and strongly increases when the temperature approaches the transition temperature into the particular liquid crystalline phase. Close to the transition, maximum Kerr constants in the order of 10-11 m V-2 are found, which are more than ten times higher than the Kerr constant of nitrobenzene, a strongly dipolar fluid with a huge Kerr effect applied in optical shutters and phase modulators. In comparison to their non-ionic LC counterparts the Kerr effect in ILCs is found to be enhanced in magnitude, but slowed-down in speed, showing rise times in the order of ten milliseconds. These remarkable differences are attributed to the presence of counterion polarization well-known from complex ionic fluids such as polyelectrolytes or ionic micellar solutions. ILCs thus combine the Kerr effect features of liquid crystals and complex ionic fluids. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. UV response on dielectric properties of nano nematic liquid crystal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamal Kumar Pandey

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In this work, we investigate the effect of UV light irradiation on the dielectric parameters of nematic liquid crystal (5CB and ZnO nanoparticles dispersed liquid crystal. With addition of nanoparticles in nematic LC are promising new materials for a variety of application in energy harvesting, displays and photonics including the liquid crystal laser. To realize many applications, however we optimize the properties of liquid crystal and understand how the UV light irradiation interact the nanoparticles and LC molecules in dispersed/doped LC. The dielectric permittivity and loss factor have discussed the pure nematic LC and dispersed/doped system after, during and before UV light exposure. The dielectric relaxation spectroscopy was carried out in the frequency range 100 Hz–10 MHz in the nematic mesophase range. Keywords: Dielectric permittivity, Relaxation frequency, Nematic liquid crystal, UV light irradiation

  18. Liquid crystals: a new topic in physics for undergraduates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavlin, Jerneja; Čepič, Mojca; Vaupotič, Nataša

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a teaching module about liquid crystals. Since liquid crystals are linked to everyday student experiences and are also a topic of current scientific research, they are an excellent candidate for a modern topic to be introduced into education. We show that liquid crystals can provide a pathway through several fields of physics such as thermodynamics, optics and electromagnetism. We discuss what students should learn about liquid crystals and what physical concepts they should know before considering them. In the presentation of the teaching module, which consists of a lecture and experimental work in a chemistry and physics laboratory, we focus on experiments on phase transitions, polarization of light, double refraction and colours. A pilot evaluation of the module was performed among pre-service primary school teachers who have no special preference for natural sciences. The evaluation shows that the module is very efficient in transferring knowledge. A prior study showed that the informally obtained pre-knowledge on liquid crystals of the first-year students from several different fields of study was negligible. Since social science students are the least interested in natural sciences, it can be expected that students in any study programme will on average achieve at least as good qualitative knowledge of phenomena related to liquid crystals as the group involved in the pilot study. (paper)

  19. Young-Laplace equation for liquid crystal interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rey, Alejandro D.

    2000-12-01

    This letter uses the classical theories of liquid crystal physics to derive the Young-Laplace equation of capillary hydrostatics for interfaces between viscous isotropic (I) fluids and nematic liquid crystals (NLC's), and establishes the existence of four energy contributions to pressure jumps across these unusual anisotropic interfaces. It is shown that in addition to the usual curvature contribution, bulk and surface gradient elasticity, elastic stress, and anchoring energy contribute to pressure differentials across the interface. The magnitude of the effect is proportional to the elastic moduli of the NLC, and to the bulk and surface orientation gradients that may be present in the nematic phase. In contrast to the planar interface between isotropic fluids, flat liquid crystal interfaces support pressure jumps if elastic stresses, bulk and surface gradient energy, and/or anchoring energies are finite.

  20. H-Bond stabilized columnar discotic liquid crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Paraschiv, I.

    2007-01-01

    Since 1977, more than 2300 publications on discotic (disk-like) liquid crystalline materials have appeared. Discotic liquid crystals, which usually consist of polyaromatic molecules surrounded by long peripheral alkyl tails, can form liquid crystalline mesophases in a wide temperature range. Within

  1. Hydrothermal decomposition of liquid crystal in subcritical water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhuang, Xuning; He, Wenzhi; Li, Guangming; Huang, Juwen; Lu, Shangming; Hou, Lianjiao

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Hydrothermal technology can effectively decompose the liquid crystal of 4-octoxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl. • The decomposition rate reached 97.6% under the optimized condition. • Octoxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl was mainly decomposed into simple and innocuous products. • The mechanism analysis reveals the decomposition reaction process. - Abstract: Treatment of liquid crystal has important significance for the environment protection and human health. This study proposed a hydrothermal process to decompose the liquid crystal of 4-octoxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl. Experiments were conducted with a 5.7 mL stainless tube reactor and heated by a salt-bath. Factors affecting the decomposition rate of 4-octoxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl were evaluated with HPLC. The decomposed liquid products were characterized by GC-MS. Under optimized conditions i.e., 0.2 mL H 2 O 2 supply, pH value 6, temperature 275 °C and reaction time 5 min, 97.6% of 4-octoxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl was decomposed into simple and environment-friendly products. Based on the mechanism analysis and products characterization, a possible hydrothermal decomposition pathway was proposed. The results indicate that hydrothermal technology is a promising choice for liquid crystal treatment

  2. Magnetic, electrical and optical properties of liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Florea, S.C.

    1980-01-01

    This thesis lays stress on the study of thermotrop nematic liquid crystals. But the crystals whose mesomorphism is achieved by an increase and decrease in temperature and the crystal category exhibiting a mesomorphism in a deep freezing phase are also studied. The results of the research carried out in the laboratory of ''active media, lasers and matter-radiation interactions'' of the Institute for Physics and Technology of Radiation Apparata as well as in the laboratories of liquid crystals and nuclear magnetic resonance of the Polytechnical Institute of Bucharest during seven years have had in view two main objectives: to elucidate and prove experimentally a new mechanism of nuclear relaxation in liquid crystals, proposed by the author; to use the current experimental techniques and methods applied in the above-mentioned laboratories to characterize and test some foreign mesomorphic media which are synthesized locally, providing a wide range of applications, such as colour television. (author)

  3. Tunable Channel Drop Filter in a Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Modulated by a Nematic Liquid Crystal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Photonic crystals (PCs have many potential applications because of their ability to control light-wave propagation and because PC-based waveguides may be integrated into optical circuits. We propose a novel tunable PC channel drop filter based on nematic liquid crystals and investigate its properties numerically by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD method. The refractive indices of liquid crystals can be actively modulated after infiltrating nematic liquid crystals into the microcavity in PC waveguides with square lattices. Then we can control light propagation in a PC waveguide. We analyze the Q -factors and resonance frequencies of a tunable PC channel drop filter by considering various indices modulation of liquid crystals. The novel component can be used as wavelength division multiplexing in photonic integrated circuits.

  4. Synthesis of novel liquid crystal compounds and their blood compatibility as anticoagulative materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tu Mei; Cha Zhenhang; Feng Bohua; Zhou Changren

    2006-01-01

    The objective of this study was to synthesize new types of cholesteric liquid crystal compounds and study the anticoagulative properties of their composite membranes. Three kinds of cholesteric liquid crystal compounds were synthesized and characterized by infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and optical polarizing microscope. The polysiloxane, as a substrate, was blended with three liquid crystal compounds and was then used as membranes. The anticoagulative property of different polysiloxane liquid crystal composite membranes was identified by the blood compatibility tests. Three cholesteryl liquid crystals synthesized in this work contained hydrophilic soft chains and presented iridescent texture owned by cholesteric liquid crystals in the range of their liquid crystal state temperature, but only cholesteryl acryloyl oxytetraethylene glycol carbonate was in the liquid crystal state at body temperature. When liquid crystals were blended with polysiloxane to form polysiloxane/liquid crystal composite membranes, the haemocompatibility of these membranes could be improved to some extent. The blood compatibility of composite membranes whose hydrophilic property was the best was more excellent than that of other composite membranes, fewer platelets adhered and spread, and showed little distortion on the surface of materials

  5. On modeling of geometrically necessary dislocation densities in plastically deformed single crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niordson, Christian Frithiof; Kysar, Jeffrey W.

    2013-01-01

    ) for isotropic plasticity. An effective 2Dsolution valid for certain orientations of face centered cubic crystals is presented, where effective in-plane material properties are derived based on the crystallographic properties. The problems of void growth, pure shear and 2D wedge indentation are analyzed......A computational method for strain gradient single crystal plasticity is presented. The method accounts for both recoverable and dissipative gradient effects. The mathematical solution procedure is predicated on two minimum principles along the lines of those devised by Fleck and Willis (2009...

  6. Invited review liquid crystal models of biological materials and silk spinning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rey, Alejandro D; Herrera-Valencia, Edtson E

    2012-06-01

    A review of thermodynamic, materials science, and rheological liquid crystal models is presented and applied to a wide range of biological liquid crystals, including helicoidal plywoods, biopolymer solutions, and in vivo liquid crystals. The distinguishing characteristics of liquid crystals (self-assembly, packing, defects, functionalities, processability) are discussed in relation to biological materials and the strong correspondence between different synthetic and biological materials is established. Biological polymer processing based on liquid crystalline precursors includes viscoelastic flow to form and shape fibers. Viscoelastic models for nematic and chiral nematics are reviewed and discussed in terms of key parameters that facilitate understanding and quantitative information from optical textures and rheometers. It is shown that viscoelastic modeling the silk spinning process using liquid crystal theories sheds light on textural transitions in the duct of spiders and silk worms as well as on tactoidal drops and interfacial structures. The range and consistency of the predictions demonstrates that the use of mesoscopic liquid crystal models is another tool to develop the science and biomimetic applications of mesogenic biological soft matter. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Nanoparticles Doped, Photorefractive Liquid Crystals

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kaczmarek, Malgosia

    2005-01-01

    ...: The main objectives of this exploratory, short project will concern the study of the quality of liquid crystal cells with diluted suspensions of ferroelectric nanoparticles and their photorefractive properties...

  8. Investigate earing of TWIP steel sheet during deep-drawing process by using crystal plasticity constitutive model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang J.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available By combining the nonlinear finite element analysis techniques and crystal plasticity theory, the macroscopic mechanical behaviour of crystalline material, the texture evolution and earing-type characteristics are simulated accurately. In this work, a crystal plasticity model exhibiting deformation twinning is introduced based on crystal plasticity theory and saturation-type hardening laws for FCC metal Fe-22Mn-0.6C TWIP steel. Based on the CPFE model and parameters which have been determined for TWIP steel, a simplified finite element model for deep drawing is promoted by using crystal plasticity constitutive model. The earing characteristics in typical deep-drawing process are simulated well. Further, the drawing forces are calculated and compared to the experimental results from reference. Meanwhile, the impacts of drawing coefficient and initial texture on the earing characteristics are investigated for controlling the earing.

  9. Induced Magnetic Anisotropy in Liquid Crystals Doped with Resonant Semiconductor Nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vicente Marzal

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Currently, there are many efforts to improve the electrooptical properties of liquid crystals by means of doping them with different types of nanoparticles. In addition, liquid crystals may be used as active media to dynamically control other interesting phenomena, such as light scattering resonances. In this sense, mixtures of resonant nanoparticles hosted in a liquid crystal could be a potential metamaterial with interesting properties. In this work, the artificial magnetism induced in a mixture of semiconductor nanoparticles surrounded by a liquid crystal is analyzed. Effective magnetic permeability of mixtures has been obtained using the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory. Furthermore, permeability variations with nanoparticles size and their concentration in the liquid crystal, as well as the magnetic anisotropy, have been studied.

  10. Magnetic, electric and optic properties of liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Florea, St.C.

    1980-01-01

    We study the nematic liquid crystals of thermotrop type. We also studied the crystals whose mesomorphism occured both at temperature increasing and decreasing and during the supercooling phase (monotrope). Investigation results performed by us have had in view the following: clearing up and experimental support of a new mechanism of nuclear relaxation in liquid crystals, proposed by author; usage of experimental techniques and methods for to characterize and test some mesomorph media used in very important applications, such as color TV. (author)

  11. Liquid crystals for organic thin-film transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iino, Hiroaki; Usui, Takayuki; Hanna, Jun-Ichi

    2015-04-01

    Crystalline thin films of organic semiconductors are a good candidate for field effect transistor (FET) materials in printed electronics. However, there are currently two main problems, which are associated with inhomogeneity and poor thermal durability of these films. Here we report that liquid crystalline materials exhibiting a highly ordered liquid crystal phase of smectic E (SmE) can solve both these problems. We design a SmE liquid crystalline material, 2-decyl-7-phenyl-[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (Ph-BTBT-10), for FETs and synthesize it. This material provides uniform and molecularly flat polycrystalline thin films reproducibly when SmE precursor thin films are crystallized, and also exhibits high durability of films up to 200 °C. In addition, the mobility of FETs is dramatically enhanced by about one order of magnitude (over 10 cm2 V-1 s-1) after thermal annealing at 120 °C in bottom-gate-bottom-contact FETs. We anticipate the use of SmE liquid crystals in solution-processed FETs may help overcome upcoming difficulties with novel technologies for printed electronics.

  12. NMR studies of liquid crystals and molecules dissolved in liquid crystal solvents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Drobny, Gary Peter [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    1982-11-01

    This thesis describes several studies in which nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) spectroscopy has been used to probe the structure, orientation and dynamics of liquid crystal mesogens and molecules dissolved in liquid crystalline phases. In addition, a modern high field nmr spectrometer is described which has been used to perform such nmr studies. Chapter 1 introduces the quantum mechanical formalisms used throughout this thesis and briefly reviews the fundamentals of nuclear spin physics and pulsed nmr spectroscopy. First the density operator is described and a specific form for the canonical ensemble is derived. Then Clebsch-Gordon coefficients, Wigner rotation matrices, and irreducible tensor operators are reviewed. An expression for the equilibrium (Curie) magnetization is obtained and the linear response of a spin system to a strong pulsed r.f. irradiation is described. Finally, the spin interaction Hamiltonians relevant to this work are reviewed together with their truncated forms. Chapter 2 is a deuterium magnetic resonance study of two 'nom' liquid crystals which possess several low temperature mesomorphic phases. Specifically, deuterium quadrupolar echo spectroscopy is used to determine the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules in smectic phases, the changes in molecular orientation and motion that occur at smectic-smectic phase transitions, and the order of the phase transitions. For both compounds, the phase sequence is determined to be isotropic, nematic, smectic A, smectic C, smectic BA, smectic BC, and crystalline. The structure of the smectic A phase is found to be consistent with the well-known model of a two dimensional liquid in which molecules are rapidly rotating about their long axes and oriented at right angles to the plane of the layers. Molecules in the smectic C phase are found to have their long axes tilted with respect to the layer normal, and the tilt angle is temperature dependent, increasing from

  13. Crystallization-induced plasticity of Cu-Zr containing bulk amorphous alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Seok-Woo; Huh, Moo-Young; Fleury, Eric; Lee, Jae-Chul

    2006-01-01

    This study examined the parameter governing the plasticity observed in various Cu-Zr containing monolithic amorphous alloys. All the alloys were fully amorphous in their as-cast condition but exhibited different plastic strains. Microscopic observations of the quasi-statically compressed alloys showed abundant nanocrystallites in the amorphous matrices in the alloys that exhibited pronounced plasticity. On the other hand, insignificant changes in the microstructure were observed in the alloy that did not show plasticity. The mechanism for the formation of these deformation-induced nanocrystallites was examined from the viewpoints of thermodynamics and kinetics. The role of the deformation-induced nanocrystallites on the plasticity of the amorphous alloy was examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that compressive loading facilitates nanocrystallization in monolithic Cu-Zr containing amorphous alloys, resulting in plasticity. The parameter governing the plasticity in these monolithic Cu-Zr containing amorphous alloys lies in the activation energy for the overall crystallization process

  14. Influence of rubbing-alignment on microwave modulation induced by liquid crystal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjiang Ye

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The microwave modulation induced by liquid crystal is decided by the liquid crystal director distribution under an external applied voltage. The rubbing-alignment of substrate has an effect on the liquid crystal director, which must result in the change of microwave phase-shift. To illustrate the influence of rubbing-alignment on the microwave phase-shift, the microwave modulation property of twisted nematic liquid crystal is researched adopting the elastic theory of liquid crystal and the finite-difference iterative method. The variations of microwave phase-shift per unit-length for different pre-tilt and pre-twist angles of liquid crystal on the substrate surface and anchoring energy strengths with the applied voltage are numerically simulated. The result indicates that with the increase of pre-tilt angle and with the decrease of anchoring energy strength the weak anchoring twisted cell with pre-twisted angle 90° relative to the strong anchoring non-twisted cell can increase the microwave phase-shift per unit-length. As a result, for achieving the maximum microwave modulation, the weak anchoring twisted cell with pre-tilt angle 5° and anchoring energy strength 1×10−5J/m2 should be selected, which provides a reliably theoretical foundation for the design of liquid crystal microwave modulator.

  15. Characterising laser beams with liquid crystal displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudley, Angela; Naidoo, Darryl; Forbes, Andrew

    2016-02-01

    We show how one can determine the various properties of light, from the modal content of laser beams to decoding the information stored in optical fields carrying orbital angular momentum, by performing a modal decomposition. Although the modal decomposition of light has been known for a long time, applied mostly to pattern recognition, we illustrate how this technique can be implemented with the use of liquid-crystal displays. We show experimentally how liquid crystal displays can be used to infer the intensity, phase, wavefront, Poynting vector, and orbital angular momentum density of unknown optical fields. This measurement technique makes use of a single spatial light modulator (liquid crystal display), a Fourier transforming lens and detector (CCD or photo-diode). Such a diagnostic tool is extremely relevant to the real-time analysis of solid-state and fibre laser systems as well as mode division multiplexing as an emerging technology in optical communication.

  16. Polarization-independent nematic liquid crystal waveguides for optofluidic applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    d'Alessandro, A.; Martini, L.; Gilardi, G.; Beccherelli, R.; Asquini, R.

    2015-01-01

    We present the fabrication and the characterization of waveguides made of a nematic liquid crystal infiltrated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) channels. They are made by means of cast and molding technique and patterned using soft photolithography. The orientation of the nematic liquid crystal molecules

  17. A helical naphthopyran dopant for photoresponsive cholesteric liquid crystals

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Yuna; Frigoli, Michel; Vanthuyne, Nicolas; Tamaoki, Nobuyuki

    2017-01-01

    The first photoresponsive cholesteric liquid crystal comprising a photoisomerizable helical naphthopyran derivative dopant and a nematic liquid crystal is reported. An unprecedented helical twisting power switching ratio of over 90% allowed us to demonstrate multi-cycle rotational motion of micro-objects by UV light irradiation.

  18. Pyrolysis of plastic waste for liquid fuel production as prospective energy resource

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharuddin, S. D. A.; Abnisa, F.; Daud, W. M. A. W.; Aroua, M. K.

    2018-03-01

    The worldwide plastic generation expanded over years because of the variety applications of plastics in numerous sectors that caused the accumulation of plastic waste in the landfill. The growing of plastics demand definitely affected the petroleum resources availability as non-renewable fossil fuel since plastics were the petroleum-based material. A few options that have been considered for plastic waste management were recycling and energy recovery technique. Nevertheless, several obstacles of recycling technique such as the needs of sorting process that was labour intensive and water pollution that lessened the process sustainability. As a result, the plastic waste conversion into energy was developed through innovation advancement and extensive research. Since plastics were part of petroleum, the oil produced through the pyrolysis process was said to have high calorific value that could be used as an alternative fuel. This paper reviewed the thermal and catalytic degradation of plastics through pyrolysis process and the key factors that affected the final end product, for instance, oil, gaseous and char. Additionally, the liquid fuel properties and a discussion on several perspectives regarding the optimization of the liquid oil yield for every plastic were also included in this paper.

  19. Effects of thermo-order-mechanical coupling on band structures in liquid crystal nematic elastomer porous phononic crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Shuai; Liu, Ying

    2018-08-01

    Liquid crystal nematic elastomers are one kind of smart anisotropic and viscoelastic solids simultaneously combing the properties of rubber and liquid crystals, which is thermal sensitivity. In this paper, the wave dispersion in a liquid crystal nematic elastomer porous phononic crystal subjected to an external thermal stimulus is theoretically investigated. Firstly, an energy function is proposed to determine thermo-induced deformation in NE periodic structures. Based on this function, thermo-induced band variation in liquid crystal nematic elastomer porous phononic crystals is investigated in detail. The results show that when liquid crystal elastomer changes from nematic state to isotropic state due to the variation of the temperature, the absolute band gaps at different bands are opened or closed. There exists a threshold temperature above which the absolute band gaps are opened or closed. Larger porosity benefits the opening of the absolute band gaps. The deviation of director from the structural symmetry axis is advantageous for the absolute band gap opening in nematic state whist constrains the absolute band gap opening in isotropic state. The combination effect of temperature and director orientation provides an added degree of freedom in the intelligent tuning of the absolute band gaps in phononic crystals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. R&D proposal the prism plastic calorimeter:PPC

    CERN Document Server

    Dobrzynski, Ludwik; Marchand, P; Nédélec, P; Salin, P; CERN. Geneva. Detector Research and Development Committee

    1990-01-01

    This proposal supports two goals: First Goal_Demonstrate that current, widely used plastic technologies allow to design Prism Plastic Calorimeter (PPC) towers with a new "liquid crystal" type plastic called Vectra. It will be shown that this technique meets the requirements for a LHC calorimeter with warm liquids: safety, hermeticity, hadronic compensation, resolution and time response. Second Goal_ Describe how one can design a warm liquid calorimeter integrated into a LHC detector,and list the advantages of the PPC: low price, minimum of mechanical structures, minimum amount of dead space, easiness of mechanical assembly, accessibility to the electronics, possibility to recirculate the liquid. The absorber and the electronics being outside the liquid and easily accessible, one has maximum flexibility to define them. The R&D program we define here aims at showing the feasibility of these new ideas by building nine towers of twenty gaps and exposing them to electron and hadron beams.

  1. Thermo-, photo-, and mechano-responsive liquid crystal networks enable tunable photonic crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akamatsu, N; Hisano, K; Tatsumi, R; Aizawa, M; Barrett, C J; Shishido, A

    2017-10-25

    Tunable photonic crystals exhibiting optical properties that respond reversibly to external stimuli have been developed using liquid crystal networks (LCNs) and liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs). These tunable photonic crystals possess an inverse opal structure and are photo-responsive, but circumvent the usual requirement to contain dye molecules in the structure that often limit their applicability and cause optical degradation. Herein, we report tunable photonic crystal films that reversibly tune the reflection peak wavelength under thermo-, photo- and mechano-stimuli, through bilayering a stimuli-responsive LCN including azobenzene units with a colourless inverse opal film composed of non-responsive, flexible durable polymers. By mechanically deforming the azobenzene containing LCN via various stimuli, the reflection peak wavelength from the bilayered film assembly could be shifted on demand. We confirm that the reflection peak shift occurs due to the deformation of the stimuli-responsive layer propagating towards and into the inverse opal layer to change its shape in response, and this shift behaviour is repeatable without optical degradation.

  2. Molecular dynamics of liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarman, Sten

    1997-02-01

    We derive Green-Kubo relations for the viscosities of a nematic liquid crystal. The derivation is based on the application of a Gaussian constraint algorithm that makes the director angular velocity of a liquid crystal a constant of motion. Setting this velocity equal to zero means that a director-based coordinate system becomes an inertial frame and that the constraint torques do not do any work on the system. The system consequently remains in equilibrium. However, one generates a different equilibrium ensemble. The great advantage of this ensemble is that the Green-Kubo relations for the viscosities become linear combinations of time correlation function integrals, whereas they are complicated rational functions in the conventional canonical ensemble. This facilitates the numerical evaluation of the viscosities by molecular dynamics simulations.

  3. Nanoparticle guests in lyotropic liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dölle, Sarah; Park, Ji Hyun; Schymura, Stefan; Jo, Hyeran; Scalia, Giusy; Lagerwall, Jan P. F.

    In this chapter we discuss the benefits, peculiarities and main challenges related to nanoparticle templating in lyotropic liquid crystals. We first give a brief bird's-eye view of the field, discussing different nanoparticles as well as different lyotropic hosts that have been explored, but then quickly focus on the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in surfactant-based lyotropic nematic phases. We discuss in some detail how the transfer of orientational order from liquid crystal host to nanoparticle guest can be verified and which degree of ordering can be expected, as well as the importance of choosing the right surfactant and its concentration for the stability of the nanoparticle suspension. We introduce a method for dispersing nanoparticles with an absolute minimum of stabilizing surfactant, based on dispersion below the Krafft temperature, and we discuss the peculiar phenomenon of filament formation in lyotropic nematic phases with a sufficient concentration of well-dispersed carbon nanotubes. Finally, we describe how the total surfactant concentration in micellar nematics can be greatly reduced by combining cat- and anionic surfactants, and we discuss how nanotubes can help in inducing the liquid crystal phase close to the isotropic-nematic boundary.

  4. High Resolution Displays Using NCAP Liquid Crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macknick, A. Brian; Jones, Phil; White, Larry

    1989-07-01

    Nematic curvilinear aligned phase (NCAP) liquid crystals have been found useful for high information content video displays. NCAP materials are liquid crystals which have been encapsulated in a polymer matrix and which have a light transmission which is variable with applied electric fields. Because NCAP materials do not require polarizers, their on-state transmission is substantially better than twisted nematic cells. All dimensional tolerances are locked in during the encapsulation process and hence there are no critical sealing or spacing issues. By controlling the polymer/liquid crystal morphology, switching speeds of NCAP materials have been significantly improved over twisted nematic systems. Recent work has combined active matrix addressing with NCAP materials. Active matrices, such as thin film transistors, have given displays of high resolution. The paper will discuss the advantages of NCAP materials specifically designed for operation at video rates on transistor arrays; applications for both backlit and projection displays will be discussed.

  5. Indentation plasticity of barium titanate single crystals: Dislocation influence on ferroelectric domain walls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, D.; Chelf, M.; White, K.W.

    2006-01-01

    The plastic behaviors of barium titanate (001) and (110) single crystals are studied with atomic force microscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) following nanoindendation damage. Plastic deformation mechanisms of ferroelectric barium titanate single crystals are discussed with a focus on the interaction between PFM response and dislocation activities. Nanoindentation tests indicate that the theoretical strength is approached prior to the first pop-in event, consistent with the creation of dislocation nucleation sites required for the onset of plasticity. Surface topographic and piezoelectric analyses indicate that pile-ups around indents result from dislocation activities on the primary slip system, {110} pc pc . The more complex indentation-induced domain patterns observed on (110) barium titanate are also discussed

  6. Electro-Optical Characterization of Bistable Smectic A Liquid Crystal Displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buyuktanir, Ebru Aylin

    My dissertation focuses the characterization and optimization of the electro-optical properties of smectic A (SmA) based liquid crystal (LC) displays. I present the development of robust and flexible bistable SmA LC displays utilizing polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) technology. The SmA PDLC displays produced on plastic substrates present electrically reversible memory, high contrast ratio, paper-like sunlight readability, and wide viewing angle characteristics. In order to optimize the SmA PDLC display, I investigated polymerization conditions, such as polymer concentration effect, polymerization temperature, and UV-light intensity variations. I characterized the electro-optical responses-such as static-response, time-response, threshold characteristics, and contrast ratio values' of the optimized SmA PDLC display and compared them to those of the pure SmA LC. The best electro-optical performance of SmA PDLC formulation was obtained using the combination of low mW/cm 2 and high mW/cm2 UV-light curing intensity. The contrast ratio of the optimum SmA PDLC at a 5o collection angle was 83% of that of the pure SmA material on plastic substrates. I fabricated 2.5 x 2.5 in., 4 x 4 in., and 6 x 6 in. sized monochrome flexible SmA PDLC displays, as well as red, yellow, and fluorescent dyes colored SmA PDLC displays on plastic substrates. The electro-optic performance of the bistable SmA LC display consisting of a patterned field-induced polymer wall infrastructure was also studied and compared to those of pure SmA material. I found that the contrast ratio of the SmA LC encapsulated between polymer walls was much greater than that of the SmA PDLC system, approaching the contrast ratio value of the pure SmA material. I also improved the electro-optical characteristics of bistable SmA LC displays by adding ferroparticles into the system. Finally, I illustrated the unique capabilities of polarized confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) to resolve the orientational order of Sm

  7. Electrically tunable zero dispersion wavelengths in photonic crystal fibers filled with a dual frequency addressable liquid crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahle, Markus; Kitzerow, Heinz-Siegfried

    2015-01-01

    We present a liquid crystal (LC) infiltrated photonic crystal fiber, which enables the electrical tuning of the position of zero dispersion wavelengths (ZDWs). A dual frequency addressable liquid crystal is aligned perpendicular on the inclusion walls of a photonic crystal fiber, which results in an escaped radial director field. The orientation of the LC is controlled by applying an external electric field. Due to the high index of the liquid crystal the fiber guides light by the photonic band gap effect. Multiple ZDWs exist in the visible and near infrared. The positions of the ZDWs can be either blue or red shifted depending on the frequency of the applied voltage

  8. Recent Advances in Discotic Liquid Crystal-Assisted Nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashwathanarayana Gowda

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This article primarily summarizes recent advancement in the field of discotic liquid crystal (DLC nanocomposites. Discotic liquid crystals are nanostructured materials, usually 2 to 6 nm size and have been recognized as organic semiconducting materials. Recently, it has been observed that the dispersion of small concentration of various functionalized zero-, one- and two-dimensional nanomaterials in the supramolecular order of mesophases of DLCs imparts negligible impact on liquid crystalline properties but enhances their thermal, supramolecular and electronic properties. Synthesis, characterization and dispersion of various nanoparticles in different discotics are presented.

  9. An incremental flow theory for crystal plasticity incorporating strain gradient effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nellemann, Christopher; Niordson, Christian Frithiof; Nielsen, Kim Lau

    2017-01-01

    The present work investigates a new approach to formulating a rate-independent strain gradient theory for crystal plasticity. The approach takes as offset recent discussions published in the literature for isotropic plasticity, and a key ingredient of the present work is the manner in which...... a gradient enhanced effective slip measure governs hardening evolution. The effect of both plastic strains and plastic strain gradients are combined into this scalar effective slip quantity, the energy associated with plastic strain is dissipative (unrecoverable), while the energy from plastic strain...... gradients is recoverable (free). The framework developed forms the basis of a finite element implementation and is demonstrated on benchmark problems designed to bring out effects such as strengthening and hardening. Monotonic loading and plane strain deformation is assumed throughout, but despite this, non...

  10. Liquid crystal alignment in electro-responsive nanostructured thermosetting materials based on block copolymer dispersed liquid crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tercjak, A; Garcia, I; Mondragon, I [Materials-Technologies Group, Departamento IngenierIa Quimica y M Ambiente, Escuela Politecnica, Universidad PaIs Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Plaza Europa 1, E-20018 Donostia-San Sebastian (Spain)], E-mail: scptesza@sc.ehu.es, E-mail: inaki.mondragon@ehu.es

    2008-07-09

    Novel well-defined nanostructured thermosetting systems were prepared by modification of a diglicydylether of bisphenol-A epoxy resin (DGEBA) with 10 or 15 wt% amphiphilic poly(styrene-b-ethylene oxide) block copolymer (PSEO) and 30 or 40 wt% low molecular weight liquid crystal 4'-(hexyl)-4-biphenyl-carbonitrile (HBC) using m-xylylenediamine (MXDA) as a curing agent. The competition between well-defined nanostructured materials and the ability for alignment of the liquid crystal phase in the materials obtained has been studied by atomic and electrostatic force microscopy, AFM and EFM, respectively. Based on our knowledge, this is the first time that addition of an adequate amount (10 wt%) of a block copolymer to 40 wt% HBC-(DGEBA/MXDA) leads to a well-organized nanostructured thermosetting system (between a hexagonal and worm-like ordered structure), which is also electro-responsive with high rate contrast. This behavior was confirmed using electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), by means of the response of the HBC liquid crystal phase to the voltage applied to the EFM tip. In contrast, though materials containing 15 wt% PSEO and 30 wt% HBC also form a well-defined nanostructured thermosetting system, they do not show such a high contrast between the uncharged and charged surface.

  11. Liquid crystal alignment in electro-responsive nanostructured thermosetting materials based on block copolymer dispersed liquid crystal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tercjak, A; Garcia, I; Mondragon, I

    2008-07-09

    Novel well-defined nanostructured thermosetting systems were prepared by modification of a diglicydylether of bisphenol-A epoxy resin (DGEBA) with 10 or 15 wt% amphiphilic poly(styrene-b-ethylene oxide) block copolymer (PSEO) and 30 or 40 wt% low molecular weight liquid crystal 4'-(hexyl)-4-biphenyl-carbonitrile (HBC) using m-xylylenediamine (MXDA) as a curing agent. The competition between well-defined nanostructured materials and the ability for alignment of the liquid crystal phase in the materials obtained has been studied by atomic and electrostatic force microscopy, AFM and EFM, respectively. Based on our knowledge, this is the first time that addition of an adequate amount (10 wt%) of a block copolymer to 40 wt% HBC-(DGEBA/MXDA) leads to a well-organized nanostructured thermosetting system (between a hexagonal and worm-like ordered structure), which is also electro-responsive with high rate contrast. This behavior was confirmed using electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), by means of the response of the HBC liquid crystal phase to the voltage applied to the EFM tip. In contrast, though materials containing 15 wt% PSEO and 30 wt% HBC also form a well-defined nanostructured thermosetting system, they do not show such a high contrast between the uncharged and charged surface.

  12. Liquid crystal alignment in electro-responsive nanostructured thermosetting materials based on block copolymer dispersed liquid crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tercjak, A; Garcia, I; Mondragon, I

    2008-01-01

    Novel well-defined nanostructured thermosetting systems were prepared by modification of a diglicydylether of bisphenol-A epoxy resin (DGEBA) with 10 or 15 wt% amphiphilic poly(styrene-b-ethylene oxide) block copolymer (PSEO) and 30 or 40 wt% low molecular weight liquid crystal 4'-(hexyl)-4-biphenyl-carbonitrile (HBC) using m-xylylenediamine (MXDA) as a curing agent. The competition between well-defined nanostructured materials and the ability for alignment of the liquid crystal phase in the materials obtained has been studied by atomic and electrostatic force microscopy, AFM and EFM, respectively. Based on our knowledge, this is the first time that addition of an adequate amount (10 wt%) of a block copolymer to 40 wt% HBC-(DGEBA/MXDA) leads to a well-organized nanostructured thermosetting system (between a hexagonal and worm-like ordered structure), which is also electro-responsive with high rate contrast. This behavior was confirmed using electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), by means of the response of the HBC liquid crystal phase to the voltage applied to the EFM tip. In contrast, though materials containing 15 wt% PSEO and 30 wt% HBC also form a well-defined nanostructured thermosetting system, they do not show such a high contrast between the uncharged and charged surface

  13. Conversion of Mixed Plastic Wastes (High Density Polyethylene and Polypropylene) into Liquid Fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaw Su Su Hmwe; Tint Tint Kywe; Moe Moe Kyaw

    2010-12-01

    In this study, mixed plastic wastes were converted into liquid fuels. Mixed plastic wastes used were high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP). The pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste to liquid fuel was carried out with and without prepared zeolite catalyst.The catalyst was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD). This catalyst was pre-treated for activation. The experiments were carried out at temperature range of 350-410C.Physical properties (density, kinematic, viscosity,refractive index)of prepared liquid fuel samples were measured. From this study, yields of liquid fuel and gas fuel were found to be 41-64% and 15-35% respectively. As for by products, char was obtained as the yield percentages from 9 to 14% and wax (yield% - 1 to 14) was formed during pyrolysis.

  14. Spatially resolved analysis of short-range structure perturbations in a plastically bent molecular crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panda, Manas K.; Ghosh, Soumyajit; Yasuda, Nobuhiro; Moriwaki, Taro; Mukherjee, Goutam Dev; Reddy, C. Malla; Naumov, Panče

    2015-01-01

    The exceptional mechanical flexibility observed with certain organic crystals defies the common perception of single crystals as brittle objects. Here, we describe the morphostructural consequences of plastic deformation in crystals of hexachlorobenzene that can be bent mechanically at multiple locations to 360° with retention of macroscopic integrity. This extraordinary plasticity proceeds by segregation of the bent section into flexible layers that slide on top of each other, thereby generating domains with slightly different lattice orientations. Microscopic, spectroscopic and diffraction analyses of the bent crystal showed that the preservation of crystal integrity when stress is applied on the (001) face requires sliding of layers by breaking and re-formation of halogen-halogen interactions. Application of stress on the (100) face, in the direction where π···π interactions dominate the packing, leads to immediate crystal disintegration. Within a broader perspective, this study highlights the yet unrecognized extraordinary malleability of molecular crystals with strongly anisotropic supramolecular interactions.

  15. Crystal plasticity modeling of irradiation growth in Zircaloy-2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patra, Anirban; Tomé, Carlos N.; Golubov, Stanislav I.

    2017-08-01

    A physically based reaction-diffusion model is implemented in the visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) crystal plasticity framework to simulate irradiation growth in hcp Zr and its alloys. The reaction-diffusion model accounts for the defects produced by the cascade of displaced atoms, their diffusion to lattice sinks and the contribution to crystallographic strain at the level of single crystals. The VPSC framework accounts for intergranular interactions and irradiation creep, and calculates the strain in the polycrystalline ensemble. A novel scheme is proposed to model the simultaneous evolution of both, number density and radius, of irradiation-induced dislocation loops directly from experimental data of dislocation density evolution during irradiation. This framework is used to predict the irradiation growth behaviour of cold-worked Zircaloy-2 and trends compared to available experimental data. The role of internal stresses in inducing irradiation creep is discussed. Effects of grain size, texture and external stress on the coupled irradiation growth and creep behaviour are also studied and compared with available experimental data.

  16. Investigation of the liquid crystal alignment layer: effect on electrical properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abderrahmen, Asma; Romdhane, Fayda Fekih; Gharbi, Abdelhafidh; Ouada, Hafedh Ben

    2008-01-01

    We investigate the electrical behavior of a symmetric liquid crystal (LC) cell: elecrode-silane-LC-silane-electrode. The silane (chlorodimethyloctadecyl-silane) layer induces a homeotropic orientation of the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) molecules. The wettability technique is used to detect the change of the surface energy of the electrode upon cleaning and silane layer deposition. We report on the dynamic impedance measurements of the nematic liquid crystal cell. It is found that the silane alignment layer has a blocking effect on the liquid crystal (LC) cell. We also study the relaxation behavior of the cell which is later assimilated as an electrical equivalent circuit

  17. Investigation of the liquid crystal alignment layer: effect on electrical properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abderrahmen, Asma; Romdhane, Fayda Fekih; Gharbi, Abdelhafidh [Laboratoire de la matiere molle, Faculte des sciences, Tunis (Tunisia); Ouada, Hafedh Ben [Laboratoire de physique et chimie des interfaces, Faculte des sciences, 5000 Monastir (Tunisia)], E-mail: asma_abderrahmen@yahoo.fr

    2008-04-01

    We investigate the electrical behavior of a symmetric liquid crystal (LC) cell: elecrode-silane-LC-silane-electrode. The silane (chlorodimethyloctadecyl-silane) layer induces a homeotropic orientation of the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) molecules. The wettability technique is used to detect the change of the surface energy of the electrode upon cleaning and silane layer deposition. We report on the dynamic impedance measurements of the nematic liquid crystal cell. It is found that the silane alignment layer has a blocking effect on the liquid crystal (LC) cell. We also study the relaxation behavior of the cell which is later assimilated as an electrical equivalent circuit.

  18. Slow-light enhanced optical detection in liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Martin Erland Vestergaard; Rishøj, Lars Søgaard; Steffensen, Henrik

    2007-01-01

    Slow-light enhanced optical detection in liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals is theoretically studied. Using a scattering-matrix approach and the Wigner–Smith delay time concept, we show that optical absorbance benefits both from slow-light phenomena as well as a high filling factor of the energy...... residing in the liquid. Utilizing strongly dispersive photonic crystal structures, we numerically demonstrate how liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals facilitate enhanced light–matter interactions, by potentially up to an order of magnitude. The proposed concept provides strong opportunities for improving...

  19. Indentation plasticity of barium titanate single crystals: Dislocation influence on ferroelectric domain walls

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, D. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Road, Houston, TX 77204 (United States)]. E-mail: duo.liu@mail.uh.edu; Chelf, M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Road, Houston, TX 77204 (United States); White, K.W. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Road, Houston, TX 77204 (United States)

    2006-10-15

    The plastic behaviors of barium titanate (001) and (110) single crystals are studied with atomic force microscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) following nanoindendation damage. Plastic deformation mechanisms of ferroelectric barium titanate single crystals are discussed with a focus on the interaction between PFM response and dislocation activities. Nanoindentation tests indicate that the theoretical strength is approached prior to the first pop-in event, consistent with the creation of dislocation nucleation sites required for the onset of plasticity. Surface topographic and piezoelectric analyses indicate that pile-ups around indents result from dislocation activities on the primary slip system, {l_brace}110{r_brace}{sub pc}<11-bar 0>{sub pc}. The more complex indentation-induced domain patterns observed on (110) barium titanate are also discussed.

  20. Plastic waste to liquid oil through catalytic pyrolysis using natural and synthetic zeolite catalysts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miandad, R; Barakat, M A; Rehan, M; Aburiazaiza, A S; Ismail, I M I; Nizami, A S

    2017-11-01

    This study aims to examine the catalytic pyrolysis of various plastic wastes in the presence of natural and synthetic zeolite catalysts. A small pilot scale reactor was commissioned to carry out the catalytic pyrolysis of polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and their mixtures in different ratios at 450°C and 75min. PS plastic waste resulted in the highest liquid oil yield of 54% using natural zeolite and 50% using synthetic zeolite catalysts. Mixing of PS with other plastic wastes lowered the liquid oil yield whereas all mixtures of PP and PE resulted in higher liquid oil yield than the individual plastic feedstocks using both catalysts. The GC-MS analysis revealed that the pyrolysis liquid oils from all samples mainly consisted of aromatic hydrocarbons with a few aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds. The types and amounts of different compounds present in liquid oils vary with some common compounds such as styrene, ethylbenzene, benzene, azulene, naphthalene, and toluene. The FT-IR data also confirmed that liquid oil contained mostly aromatic compounds with some alkanes, alkenes and small amounts of phenol group. The produced liquid oils have high heating values (HHV) of 40.2-45MJ/kg, which are similar to conventional diesel. The liquid oil has potential to be used as an alternative source of energy or fuel production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Correlation between crystallization behaviour and interfacial interactions in plasticized PLA/POSS nanocomposites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kodal, Mehmet, E-mail: mehmet.kodal@kocaeli.edu.tr; Şirin, Hümeyra; Özkoç, Güralp, E-mail: guralp.ozkoc@kocaeli.edu.tr [Department of Chemical Engineering, Kocaeli University, 41380, Kocaeli Turkey (Turkey)

    2016-03-09

    In this study, the correlation between crystallization behavior and surface chemistry of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) for plasticized poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/POSS nanocomposites was investigated. Four different kinds of POSS particles having different chemical structures were used. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, 8000 g/mol) was utilized as the plasticiser. The nanocomposites were melt-compounded in an Xplore Instruments 15 cc twin screw microcompounder at 180°C barrel temperature and 100 rpm screw speed. Non-isothermal crystallization behaviour of PLA/PEG/POSS nanocomposites were evaluated from common kinetic models such as Avrami and Avrami-Ozawa and Kissinger by using the thermal data obtained from differantial scanning calorimetry (DSC). A polarized optical microscope (POM) equipped with a hot-stage was used to examine the morphology during the crystal growth. In order to investigate the interfacial interactions between POSS particles and plasticized PLA, thermodynamic work of adhesion approach was adopted using the experimentally determined surface energies. A strong correlation was obtained between interfacial chemistry and the nucleation rate in plasticized PLA/POSS nanocomposites. It was found that the polar interactions were the dominating factor which determines the nucleation activity of the POSS particles.

  2. Correlation between crystallization behaviour and interfacial interactions in plasticized PLA/POSS nanocomposites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kodal, Mehmet; Şirin, Hümeyra; Özkoç, Güralp

    2016-01-01

    In this study, the correlation between crystallization behavior and surface chemistry of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) for plasticized poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/POSS nanocomposites was investigated. Four different kinds of POSS particles having different chemical structures were used. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, 8000 g/mol) was utilized as the plasticiser. The nanocomposites were melt-compounded in an Xplore Instruments 15 cc twin screw microcompounder at 180°C barrel temperature and 100 rpm screw speed. Non-isothermal crystallization behaviour of PLA/PEG/POSS nanocomposites were evaluated from common kinetic models such as Avrami and Avrami-Ozawa and Kissinger by using the thermal data obtained from differantial scanning calorimetry (DSC). A polarized optical microscope (POM) equipped with a hot-stage was used to examine the morphology during the crystal growth. In order to investigate the interfacial interactions between POSS particles and plasticized PLA, thermodynamic work of adhesion approach was adopted using the experimentally determined surface energies. A strong correlation was obtained between interfacial chemistry and the nucleation rate in plasticized PLA/POSS nanocomposites. It was found that the polar interactions were the dominating factor which determines the nucleation activity of the POSS particles.

  3. Liquid Crystal Microlenses for Autostereoscopic Displays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Francisco Algorri

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Three-dimensional vision has acquired great importance in the audiovisual industry in the past ten years. Despite this, the first generation of autostereoscopic displays failed to generate enough consumer excitement. Some reasons are little 3D content and performance issues. For this reason, an exponential increase in three-dimensional vision research has occurred in the last few years. In this review, a study of the historical impact of the most important technologies has been performed. This study is carried out in terms of research manuscripts per year. The results reveal that research on spatial multiplexing technique is increasing considerably and today is the most studied. For this reason, the state of the art of this technique is presented. The use of microlenses seems to be the most successful method to obtain autostereoscopic vision. When they are fabricated with liquid crystal materials, extended capabilities are produced. Among the numerous techniques for manufacturing liquid crystal microlenses, this review covers the most viable designs for its use in autostereoscopic displays. For this reason, some of the most important topologies and their relation with autostereoscopic displays are presented. Finally, the challenges in some recent applications, such as portable devices, and the future of three-dimensional displays based on liquid crystal microlenses are outlined.

  4. Substructure based modeling of nickel single crystals cycled at low plastic strain amplitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Dong

    In this dissertation a meso-scale, substructure-based, composite single crystal model is fully developed from the simple uniaxial model to the 3-D finite element method (FEM) model with explicit substructures and further with substructure evolution parameters, to simulate the completely reversed, strain controlled, low plastic strain amplitude cyclic deformation of nickel single crystals. Rate-dependent viscoplasticity and Armstrong-Frederick type kinematic hardening rules are applied to substructures on slip systems in the model to describe the kinematic hardening behavior of crystals. Three explicit substructure components are assumed in the composite single crystal model, namely "loop patches" and "channels" which are aligned in parallel in a "vein matrix," and persistent slip bands (PSBs) connected in series with the vein matrix. A magnetic domain rotation model is presented to describe the reverse magnetostriction of single crystal nickel. Kinematic hardening parameters are obtained by fitting responses to experimental data in the uniaxial model, and the validity of uniaxial assumption is verified in the 3-D FEM model with explicit substructures. With information gathered from experiments, all control parameters in the model including hardening parameters, volume fraction of loop patches and PSBs, and variation of Young's modulus etc. are correlated to cumulative plastic strain and/or plastic strain amplitude; and the whole cyclic deformation history of single crystal nickel at low plastic strain amplitudes is simulated in the uniaxial model. Then these parameters are implanted in the 3-D FEM model to simulate the formation of PSB bands. A resolved shear stress criterion is set to trigger the formation of PSBs, and stress perturbation in the specimen is obtained by several elements assigned with PSB material properties a priori. Displacement increment, plastic strain amplitude control and overall stress-strain monitor and output are carried out in the user

  5. Device for treating plastic counting vials containing radioactive liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neidhart, B.; Brindoepke, H.W.; Flocke, W.; Kringe, K.P.; Lippmann, C.H.

    1985-01-01

    The treatment consists of separating the radioactive contents of the counting vial from its plastic components. The apparatus consists of a device for continuously supplying the counting vials to be treated, a means for crushing the vials into chips of plastic and a facility by means of which the radioactive contents of the counting vial and the separated plastic chips are collected separately from one another. A stirring assembly with a motor-driven stirrer and an alignment device are also provided. The radioactive substances pass through a sieve while the plastic chips slide down the sieve chute and into another container. All the metal parts of the facility are of stainless steel. The plastic chips collected in the sieve holder are washed and, after drying, are removed as negligibly radioactive solids. The weakly radioactive wash liquid is separated and collected. (orig./PW)

  6. Optical Study of Liquid Crystal Doped with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gharde, Rita A.; Thakare, Sangeeta Y.

    2014-11-01

    Liquid crystalline materials have been useful for display devices i.e watches, calculators, automobile dashboards, televisions, multi media projectors etc. as well as in electro tunable lasers, optical fibers and lenses. Carbon nanotube is chosen as the main experimental factor in this study as it has been observed that Carbon Nano Tube influence the existing properties of liquid crystal host and with the doping of CNT can enhance1 the properties of LC. The combination of carbon nanotube (CNT) and liquid crystal (LC) materials show considerable interest in the scientific community due to unique physical properties of CNT in liquid crystal. Dispersion of CNTs in LCs can provide us a cheap, simple, versatile and effective means of controlling nanotube orientation on macroscopic scale with no restrictions on nanotube type. LCs have the long range orientational order rendering them to be anisotropic phases. If CNTs can be well dispersed in LC matrix, they will align with their long axes along the LC director to minimize distortions of the LC director field and the free energy. In this paper, we doped liquid crystal (Cholesteryl Nonanoate) by a small amount of multiwall carbon nanotube 0.05% and 0.1% wt. We found that by adding carbon nanotube to liquid crystals the melting point of the mixture is decreased but TNI is increased. It has been also observed that with incereas in concentration of carbon nanotube into liquid crystal shows conciderable effect on LC. The prepared samples were characterized using various techniques to study structural, thermal and optical properties i.e PMS, FPSS, UV-Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR measurements, and DTA.

  7. Current progress and technical challenges of flexible liquid crystal displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujikake, Hideo; Sato, Hiroto

    2009-02-01

    We focused on several technical approaches to flexible liquid crystal (LC) display in this report. We have been developing flexible displays using plastic film substrates based on polymer-dispersed LC technology with molecular alignment control. In our representative devices, molecular-aligned polymer walls keep plastic-substrate gap constant without LC alignment disorder, and aligned polymer networks create monostable switching of fast-response ferroelectric LC (FLC) for grayscale capability. In the fabrication process, a high-viscosity FLC/monomer solution was printed, sandwiched and pressed between plastic substrates. Then the polymer walls and networks were sequentially formed based on photo-polymerization-induced phase separation in the nematic phase by two exposure processes of patterned and uniform ultraviolet light. The two flexible backlight films of direct illumination and light-guide methods using small three-primary-color light-emitting diodes were fabricated to obtain high-visibility display images. The fabricated flexible FLC panels were driven by external transistor arrays, internal organic thin film transistor (TFT) arrays, and poly-Si TFT arrays. We achieved full-color moving-image displays using the flexible FLC panel and the flexible backlight film based on field-sequential-color driving technique. Otherwise, for backlight-free flexible LC displays, flexible reflective devices of twisted guest-host nematic LC and cholesteric LC were discussed with molecular-aligned polymer walls. Singlesubstrate device structure and fabrication method using self-standing polymer-stabilized nematic LC film and polymer ceiling layer were also proposed for obtaining LC devices with excellent flexibility.

  8. Bistable switching in dual-frequency liquid crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palto, S. P., E-mail: palto@online.ru; Barnik, M I [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation)

    2006-06-15

    Various bistable switching modes in nematic liquid crystals with frequency inversion of the sign of dielectric anisotropy are revealed and investigated. Switching between states with different helicoidal distributions of the director field of a liquid crystal, as well as between uniform and helicoidal states, is realized by dual-frequency waveforms of a driving voltage. A distinctive feature of the dual-frequency switching is that the uniform planar distribution of the director field may correspond to a thermodynamically equilibrium state, and the chirality of an LC is not a necessary condition for switching to a helicoidal state.

  9. Local layer structure of smectic liquid crystals by X-ray micro-diffraction

    CERN Document Server

    Takanishi, Y

    2003-01-01

    The local layer structure of smectic liquid crystal has been measured using time-resolved synchrotron X-ray micro-diffraction. Typical layer disorders observed in surface stabilized (anti-) ferroelectric liquid crystals, i.e. a stripe texture, a needed-like defect and a zigzag defect, are directly analyzed. The detailed analysis slows that the surface anchoring force due to the interaction between the liquid crystal molecule and the alignment thin film plays an important role to realize both the static and dynamic local layer structures. The layer structure of the circular domain observed in the liquid crystal of bent-shaped molecules found to depend on the applied electric field though the optical micrograph shows little difference. The frustrated, double and single layer structures of the bent-shaped molecule liquid crystal are determined depending on the terminal alkyl chain length. (author)

  10. Passive Temperature Stabilization of Silicon Photonic Devices Using Liquid Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna Ptasinski

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In this work we explore the negative thermo-optic properties of liquid crystal claddings for passive temperature stabilization of silicon photonic integrated circuits. Photonic circuits are playing an increasing role in communications and computing, but they suffer from temperature dependent performance variation. Most existing techniques aimed at compensation of thermal effects rely on power hungry Joule heating. We show that integrating a liquid crystal cladding helps to minimize the effects of a temperature dependent drift. The advantage of liquid crystals lies in their high negative thermo-optic coefficients in addition to low absorption at the infrared wavelengths.

  11. Preparation of Liquid Crystal Networks for Macroscopic Oscillatory Motion Induced by Light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vantomme, Ghislaine; Gelebart, Anne Helene; Broer, Dirk J; Meijer, E W

    2017-09-20

    A strategy based on doped liquid crystalline networks is described to create mechanical self-sustained oscillations of plastic films under continuous light irradiation. The photo-excitation of dopants that can quickly dissipate light into heat, coupled with anisotropic thermal expansion and self-shadowing of the film, gives rise to the self-sustained deformation. The oscillations observed are influenced by the dimensions and the modulus of the film, and by the directionality and intensity of the light. The system developed offers applications in energy conversion and harvesting for soft-robotics and automated systems. The general method described here consists of creating free-standing liquid crystalline films and characterizing the mechanical and thermal effects observed. The molecular alignment is achieved using alignment layers (rubbed polyimide), commonly used in the display manufacturing industry. To obtain actuators with large deformation, the mesogens are aligned and polymerized in a splay/bend configuration, i.e., with the director of the liquid crystals (LCs) going gradually from planar to homeotropic through the film thickness. Upon irradiation, the mechanical and thermal oscillations obtained are monitored with a high-speed camera. The results are further quantified by image analysis using an image processing program.

  12. Effect of temperature on the morphology and electro-optical properties of liquid crystal physical gel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leaw, W.L.; Mamat, C.R.; Triwahyono, S.; Jalil, A.A.; Bidin, N.

    2016-01-01

    Liquid crystal physical gels were (thermally) prepared with cholesteryl stearate as a gelator in nematic liquid crystal, 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl. The electro-optical performance of liquid crystal physical gels is almost entirely dependent on the gels' inherent morphology. This study involved an empirical investigation of the relationships among all of the gelation temperature, morphology, and electro-optical properties. Besides continuous cooling at room temperature, isothermal cooling was also performed at both 18 and 0 °C, corresponding to near-solid and solid phases of 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl respectively. Nevertheless, the liquid crystal physical gel was also isothermally rapidly cooled using liquid nitrogen. Polarizing optical microscopy showed that the gel structure became thinner when isothermal cooling was carried out. These thinner gel aggregates then interconnected to form larger liquid crystal domains. Moreover, it was also revealed that the gel networks were randomized. Electron spin resonance results showed that the liquid crystal director orientation was severely randomized in the presence of gel networks. Conversely, isothermal cooling using liquid nitrogen generated a higher liquid crystal director orientation order. The 6.0 wt% cholesteryl stearate/4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl physical gel that was isothermally cooled using liquid nitrogen showed the lowest response time in a twisted nematic mode optical cell. - Graphical abstract: Liquid crystal physical gel was prepared using nematic liquid crystal, 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl and cholesteryl stearate as gelator. Isothermal cooling at lower temperature produced thinner gel network and larger liquid crystal domain. - Highlights: • 5CB nematic liquid crystal was successfully gelled by cholesteryl stearate gelator. • The morphology of gel network was controlled by different cooling conditions. • Thinner gel network was formed by the rapid cooling using liquid nitrogen. • Enhanced

  13. Effect of temperature on the morphology and electro-optical properties of liquid crystal physical gel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leaw, W.L. [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Mamat, C.R., E-mail: che@kimia.fs.utm.my [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Triwahyono, S. [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Jalil, A.A. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Centre of Hydrogen Energy, Institute of Future Energy, Univerisiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Bidin, N. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia)

    2016-12-01

    Liquid crystal physical gels were (thermally) prepared with cholesteryl stearate as a gelator in nematic liquid crystal, 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl. The electro-optical performance of liquid crystal physical gels is almost entirely dependent on the gels' inherent morphology. This study involved an empirical investigation of the relationships among all of the gelation temperature, morphology, and electro-optical properties. Besides continuous cooling at room temperature, isothermal cooling was also performed at both 18 and 0 °C, corresponding to near-solid and solid phases of 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl respectively. Nevertheless, the liquid crystal physical gel was also isothermally rapidly cooled using liquid nitrogen. Polarizing optical microscopy showed that the gel structure became thinner when isothermal cooling was carried out. These thinner gel aggregates then interconnected to form larger liquid crystal domains. Moreover, it was also revealed that the gel networks were randomized. Electron spin resonance results showed that the liquid crystal director orientation was severely randomized in the presence of gel networks. Conversely, isothermal cooling using liquid nitrogen generated a higher liquid crystal director orientation order. The 6.0 wt% cholesteryl stearate/4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl physical gel that was isothermally cooled using liquid nitrogen showed the lowest response time in a twisted nematic mode optical cell. - Graphical abstract: Liquid crystal physical gel was prepared using nematic liquid crystal, 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl and cholesteryl stearate as gelator. Isothermal cooling at lower temperature produced thinner gel network and larger liquid crystal domain. - Highlights: • 5CB nematic liquid crystal was successfully gelled by cholesteryl stearate gelator. • The morphology of gel network was controlled by different cooling conditions. • Thinner gel network was formed by the rapid cooling using liquid nitrogen.

  14. Liquid crystal television spatial light modulators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hua-Kuang; Chao, Tien-Hsin

    1989-01-01

    The spatial light modulation characteristics and capabilities of the liquid crystal television (LCTV) spatial light modulators (SLMs) are discussed. A comparison of Radio Shack, Epson, and Citizen LCTV SLMs is made.

  15. Comparison of Liquid Limit of Highly Plastic Clay by Means of Casagrande and Fall Cone Apparatus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønbech, Gitte Lyng; Nielsen, Benjaminn Nordahl; Ibsen, Lars Bo

    2011-01-01

    The connection between the Liquid Limit found using the Casagrande and the Fall Cone Apparatus is tested for the Danish Eocene Clay that has Liquid Limits up to 350% and Plasticity Index up to 300%, which is well outside the normal range of Casagrande’s Plasticity Chart. Based on the high plastic...

  16. Discrete dislocation plasticity modeling of short cracks in single crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deshpande, VS; Needleman, A; Van der Giessen, E

    2003-01-01

    The mode-I crack growth behavior of geometrically similar edge-cracked single crystal specimens of varying size subject to both monotonic and cyclic axial loading is analyzed using discrete dislocation dynamics. Plastic deformation is modeled through the motion of edge dislocations in an elastic

  17. Vitrification and Crystallization of Phase-Separated Metallic Liquid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Cheng

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS behavior of Fe50Cu50 melt from 3500 K to 300 K with different rapid quenching is investigated by molecular dynamics (MD simulation based on the embedded atom method (EAM. The liquid undergoes metastable phase separation by spinodal decomposition in the undercooled regime and subsequently solidifies into three different Fe-rich microstructures: the interconnected-type structure is kept in the glass and crystal at a higher cooling rate, while the Fe-rich droplets are found to crystalize at a lower cooling rate. During the crystallization process, only Fe-rich clusters can act as the solid nuclei. The twinning planes can be observed in the crystal and only the homogeneous atomic stacking shows mirror symmetry along the twinning boundary. Our present work provides atomic-scale understanding of LLPS melt during the cooling process.

  18. Variational Approach in the Theory of Liquid-Crystal State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gevorkyan, E. V.

    2018-03-01

    The variational calculus by Leonhard Euler is the basis for modern mathematics and theoretical physics. The efficiency of variational approach in statistical theory of liquid-crystal state and in general case in condensed state theory is shown. The developed approach in particular allows us to introduce correctly effective pair interactions and optimize the simple models of liquid crystals with help of realistic intermolecular potentials.

  19. Smectic liquid crystals in anisotropic colloidal silica gels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liang, Dennis [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Borthwick, Matthew A [Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Leheny, Robert L [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)

    2004-05-19

    We report x-ray scattering studies of the smectic liquid crystal octylcyano-biphenol (8CB) confined by strained colloidal silica gels. The gels, comprised of aerosil particles, possess an anisotropic structure that stabilizes long-range nematic order in the liquid crystal while introducing random field effects that disrupt the smectic transition. The short-range smectic correlations that form within this environment are inconsistent with the presence of a topologically ordered state predicted for 3D random field XY systems and are quantitatively like the correlations of smectics confined by isotropic gels. Detailed analysis reveals that the quenched disorder suppresses the anisotropic scaling of the smectic correlation lengths observed in the pure liquid crystal. These results and additional measurements of the smectic-A to smectic-C transition in 4-n-pentylphenylthiol-4'-n-octyloxybenzoate (8barS5) indicate that the observed smectic behaviour is dictated by random fields coupling directly to the smectic order while fields coupling to the nematic director play a subordinate role.

  20. Guided mode studies of smectic liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hodder, B.

    2000-03-01

    Recently there has been considerable interest in the use of ferroelectric liquid crystals in low power, fast switching display devices. At present the voltage switching process in surface stabilised ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) devices is not fully understood and a convenient theory for such cells has yet to be found. It is the primary aim of this work to characterise the optic tensor configuration (director profile) in thin cells (∼ 3.5 μm) containing ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) material. These results form a benchmark by which continuum theories may be tested. Polarised microscopy is, perhaps, the most common optical probe of liquid crystal cells. It should be appreciated that this technique is fundamentally limited, as the results are deduced from an integrated optical response of any given cell, and cannot be used to spatially resolve details of the director profile through the cell. The guided mode techniques used in this study are the primary non-integral probe and enable detailed spatial resolution of the director profile within liquid crystal cells. Analysis of guided mode data from cells containing homeotropically aligned FLC reveals the temperature dependence of the optical biaxiality and cone angle for a 40% chiral mixture of the commercially available FLC SCE8*. From these optical biaxiality measurements the temperature dependence of the biaxial order parameter C is determined. Guided mode studies of cells containing homogeneously aligned SCE8* (the conventional alignment for SSFLC devices) reveal the 0V equilibrium director profile from which a cone and chevron model is constructed. Subsequent studies of voltage induced elastic deformations of the director profile are presented and compared with a single elastic constant continuum theory which is shown to be inadequate. Optical guided mode techniques are not directly sensitive to the smectic layer configuration but X-ray scattering is. Here, for the first time, results are presented

  1. Liquid filling of photonic crystal fibres for grating writing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Henrik Rokkjær; Canning, John; Lægsgaard, Jesper

    2007-01-01

    liquid filling of photonic crystal fibres reduces the scattering from air–glass interfaces during Bragg grating writing in many layered photonic crystal fibres. Within experimental uncertainty, the grating index modulation of a grating written in germanium-doped photonic crystal fibre with 10 rings...

  2. 2D director calculation for liquid crystal optical phased array

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, L; Zhang, J; Wu, L Y

    2005-01-01

    A practical numerical model for a liquid crystal cell is set up based on the geometrical structure of liquid crystal optical phased arrays. Model parameters include width and space of electrodes, thickness of liquid crystal layer, alignment layers and glass substrates, pre-tilted angles, dielectric constants, elastic constants and so on. According to electrostatic field theory and Frank-Oseen elastic continuum theory, 2D electric potential distribution and 2D director distribution are calculated by means of the finite difference method on non-uniform grids. The influence of cell sizes on director distribution is analyzed. The fringe field effect between electrodes is also discussed

  3. An efficient spectral crystal plasticity solver for GPU architectures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malahe, Michael

    2018-03-01

    We present a spectral crystal plasticity (CP) solver for graphics processing unit (GPU) architectures that achieves a tenfold increase in efficiency over prior GPU solvers. The approach makes use of a database containing a spectral decomposition of CP simulations performed using a conventional iterative solver over a parameter space of crystal orientations and applied velocity gradients. The key improvements in efficiency come from reducing global memory transactions, exposing more instruction-level parallelism, reducing integer instructions and performing fast range reductions on trigonometric arguments. The scheme also makes more efficient use of memory than prior work, allowing for larger problems to be solved on a single GPU. We illustrate these improvements with a simulation of 390 million crystal grains on a consumer-grade GPU, which executes at a rate of 2.72 s per strain step.

  4. Liquid Crystal Gel Reduces Age Spots by Promoting Skin Turnover

    OpenAIRE

    Mina Musashi; Ariella Coler-Reilly; Teruaki Nagasawa; Yoshiki Kubota; Satomi Kato; Yoko Yamaguchi

    2014-01-01

    Studies have shown that liquid crystals structurally resembling the intercellular lipids in the stratum corneum can beneficially affect the skin when applied topically by stimulating the skin’s natural regenerative functions and accelerating epidermal turnover. In the present study, the effects of applying low concentrations of a liquid crystal gel of our own creation were evaluated using epidermal thickening in mouse skin as an assay for effective stimulation of epidermal turnover. A liquid ...

  5. Creation of tunable absolute bandgaps in a two-dimensional anisotropic photonic crystal modulated by a nematic liquid crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Chenyang

    2008-01-01

    Photonic crystals (PCs) have many potential applications because of their ability to control light-wave propagation. We have investigated the tunable absolute bandgap in a two-dimensional anisotropic photonic crystal structures modulated by a nematic liquid crystal. The PC structure composed of an anisotropic-dielectric cylinder in the liquid crystal medium is studied by solving Maxwell's equations using the plane wave expansion method. The photonic band structures are found to exhibit absolute bandgaps for the square and triangular lattices. Numerical simulations show that the absolute bandgaps can be continuously tuned in the square and triangular lattices consisting of anisotropic-dielectric cylinders by infiltrating nematic liquid crystals. Such a mechanism of bandgap adjustment should open up a new application for designing components in photonic integrated circuits

  6. Thermal Conductivity and Liquid Crystal Thermometers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edge, R. D., Ed.

    1993-01-01

    Describes using stock liquid crystal postcards as inexpensive classroom thermometers. Also suggests using these postcards as a good visual temperature indicator for classroom demonstrations such as temperature gradients. One such activity is provided. (MVL)

  7. Radiation chemistry of plastic crystals. Annual progress report, November 1, 1976--October 31, 1977

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klingen, T.J.

    1977-01-01

    The overall purpose of this investigation is the understanding of the role that mesomorphism plays in the radiation chemistry of plastic crystals. In approaching this problem, the first step is to obtain data on the basic radiation chemistry of the most ordered solid state--the crystalline state. Thus, the results reported here are concerned with determination of the radiolysis of three plastic crystals in their highest ordered state. In addition to these studies, investigation of the optical properties and the positron life time properties of these materials in their plastic crystalline state was undertaken. The primary purpose of these studies during the current reporting period was the determination of the feasibility of these techniques to provide useful information to the overall project goal

  8. Precipitation of thin-film organic single crystals by a novel crystal growth method using electrospray and ionic liquid film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueda, Hiroyuki; Takeuchi, Keita; Kikuchi, Akihiko

    2018-04-01

    We report an organic single crystal growth technique, which uses a nonvolatile liquid thin film as a crystal growth field and supplies fine droplets containing solute from the surface of the liquid thin film uniformly and continuously by electrospray deposition. Here, we investigated the relationships between the solute concentration of the supplied solution and the morphology and size of precipitated crystals for four types of fluorescent organic low molecule material [tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3), 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD), N,N‧-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N‧-diphenylbenzidine (TPD), and N,N-bis(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N-diphenyl-benzidine (NPB)] using an ionic liquid as the nonvolatile liquid. As the concentration of the supplied solution decreased, the morphology of precipitated crystals changed from dendritic or leaf shape to platelike one. At the solution concentration of 0.1 mg/ml, relatively large platelike single crystals with a diagonal length of over 100 µm were obtained for all types of material. In the experiment using ionic liquid and dioctyl sebacate as nonvolatile liquids, it was confirmed that there is a clear positive correlation between the maximum volume of the precipitated single crystal and the solubility of solute under the same solution supply conditions.

  9. Crystal-liquid-gas phase transitions and thermodynamic similarity

    CERN Document Server

    Skripov, Vladimir P; Schmelzer, Jurn W P

    2006-01-01

    Professor Skripov obtained worldwide recognition with his monograph ""Metastable liquids"", published in English by Wiley & Sons. Based upon this work and another monograph published only in Russia, this book investigates the behavior of melting line and the properties of the coexisting crystal and liquid phase of simple substances across a wide range of pressures, including metastable states of the coexisting phases. The authors derive new relations for the thermodynamic similarity for liquid-vapour phase transition, as well as describing solid-liquid, liquid-vapor and liquid-liquid phase tra

  10. Dichroic dye-dependent studies in guest-host polymer-dispersed liquid crystal films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malik, Praveen, E-mail: pmalik100@yahoo.co [Department of Physics, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar 144011, Punjab (India); Raina, K.K. [Liquid Crystal Group, Materials Research Laboratory, School of Physics and Materials Science, Thapar University, Patiala 147004, Punjab (India)

    2010-01-01

    Guest-host polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (GHPDLC) films were prepared using a nematic liquid crystal, photo-curable polymer and dichroic dye (anthraquinone blue) by polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) technique. Non-ionic dichroic dye (1%, 2% and 4% wt./wt. ratio) was taken as guest in PDLC host. Polarizing microscopy shows that in the absence of electric field, liquid crystal (LC) droplets in polymer matrix mainly exhibit bipolar configuration, however, relatively at higher field, maltese-type crosses were observed. Our results show that approx1% dye-doped PDLC film shows better transmission and faster response times over pure polymer-dispersed nematic liquid crystal (PDNLC) and higher concentrated (2% and 4%) GHPDLC films.

  11. Dichroic dye-dependent studies in guest-host polymer-dispersed liquid crystal films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malik, Praveen; Raina, K.K.

    2010-01-01

    Guest-host polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (GHPDLC) films were prepared using a nematic liquid crystal, photo-curable polymer and dichroic dye (anthraquinone blue) by polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) technique. Non-ionic dichroic dye (1%, 2% and 4% wt./wt. ratio) was taken as guest in PDLC host. Polarizing microscopy shows that in the absence of electric field, liquid crystal (LC) droplets in polymer matrix mainly exhibit bipolar configuration, however, relatively at higher field, maltese-type crosses were observed. Our results show that ∼1% dye-doped PDLC film shows better transmission and faster response times over pure polymer-dispersed nematic liquid crystal (PDNLC) and higher concentrated (2% and 4%) GHPDLC films.

  12. IR Sensor Synchronizing Active Shutter Glasses for 3D HDTV with Flexible Liquid Crystal Lenses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeong In Han

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available IR sensor synchronizing active shutter glasses for three-dimensional high definition television (3D HDTV were developed using a flexible liquid crystal (FLC lens. The FLC lens was made on a polycarbonate (PC substrate using conventional liquid crystal display (LCD processes. The flexible liquid crystal lens displayed a maximum transmission of 32% and total response time of 2.56 ms. The transmittance, the contrast ratio and the response time of the flexible liquid crystal lens were superior to those of glass liquid crystal lenses. Microcontroller unit and drivers were developed as part of a reception module with power supply for the IR sensor synchronizing active shutter glasses with the flexible liquid crystal lens prototypes. IR sensor synchronizing active shutter glasses for 3D HDTV with flexible liquid crystal lenses produced excellent 3D images viewing characteristics.

  13. The liquid protein phase in crystallization: a case study—intact immunoglobulins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuznetsov, Yurii G.; Malkin, Alexander J.; McPherson, Alexander

    2001-11-01

    A common observation by protein chemists has been the appearance, for many proteins in aqueous solutions, of oil like droplets, or in more extreme cases the formation of a second oil like phase. These may accompany the formation of precipitate in "salting out" or "salting in' procedures, but more commonly appear in place of any precipitate. Such phase separations also occur, with even greater frequency, in the presence of polymeric precipitants such as polyethyleneglycol (PEG). In general the appearance of a second liquid phase has been taken as indicative of protein aggregation, though an aggregate state distinctly different from that characteristic of amorphous precipitate. While the latter is thought to be composed of linear and branched assemblies, polymers of a sort, the oil phase suggests a more compact, three-dimensional, but fluid state. An important property of an alternate, fluid phase is that it can mediate transitions between other states, for example, between protein molecules free in solution and protein molecules immobilized in amorphous precipitate or crystals. The "liquid protein" phase can be readily observed in many crystallization experiments either prior to the appearance of visible crystals, or directly participating in the crystal growth process. In some cases the relationship between the liquid phase and developing crystals is intimate. Crystals grow directly from the liquid phase, or appear only after the visible formation of the liquid phase. We describe here our experience with a class of macromolecules, immunoglobulins, and particularly IDEC-151, an IgG specific for CD4 on human lymphocytes. This protein has been crystallized from a Jeffamine-LiSO 4 mother liquor and, its crystallization illustrates many of the features associated with the liquid protein, or protein rich phase.

  14. A new spectral framework for crystal plasticity modeling of cubic and hexagonal polycrystalline metals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knezevic, Marko

    Crystal plasticity physics-based constitutive theories are used in understanding and predicting the evolution of the underlying microstructure and the concomitant anisotropic stress-strain response in polycrystalline metals subjected to finite plastic strains. A new scheme for efficient crystal plasticity computations for both cubic and hexagonal polycrystalline metals subjected to arbitrary deformation modes has been developed in this thesis. This new computational scheme involves building material databases comprised of spectral coefficients. These spectral coefficients are computed using discrete Fourier transforms (DFTs) and allow for compact representation and fast retrieval of crystal plasticity solutions for a crystal of any orientation subjected to any deformation mode. The novel approach is able to speed up the conventional crystal plasticity computations by two orders of magnitude. Furthermore, mathematical procedures for delineation of property closures that identify the complete set of theoretically feasible combinations of macroscale effective properties has been developed for a broad set of mechanical properties. Subsequently, these constructs were used in microstructure design for identifying an optimal microstructure for selected performance criteria. And finally, hybrid processing recipes that transform a given initial microstructure into a member of the set of optimal microstructures that exhibit superior properties or performance characteristics have been described. Insights and tremendous potential of these novel materials knowledge systems are discussed and demonstrated through specific case-studies. The anisotropic stress-strain response measured in simple compression and simple tension tests in different sample directions on an annealed, strongly textured, AZ31 sheet has been studied. New insights into the mechanical response of this material were obtained by correlating the changes in the measured strain-hardening rates in the different

  15. Optimized Wavelength-Tuned Nonlinear Frequency Conversion Using a Liquid Crystal Clad Waveguide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephen, Mark A. (Inventor)

    2018-01-01

    An optimized wavelength-tuned nonlinear frequency conversion process using a liquid crystal clad waveguide. The process includes implanting ions on a top surface of a lithium niobate crystal to form an ion implanted lithium niobate layer. The process also includes utilizing a tunable refractive index of a liquid crystal to rapidly change an effective index of the lithium niobate crystal.

  16. An all-solid-state electrochemical double-layer capacitor based on a plastic crystal electrolyte

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali eaabouimrane

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available A plastic crystal, solid electrolyte was prepared by mixing tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate salt, (C4H94NPF6, (10 molar % with succinonitrile, SCN, (N C−CH2−CH2−C N, [SCN-10%TBA-PF6]. The resultant waxy material shows a plastic crystalline phase that extend from -36 °C up to its melting at 23 °C. It shows a high ionic conductivity reaching 4 × 10−5 S/cm in the plastic crystal phase (15 °C and ~ 3 × 10−3 S/cm in the molten state (25 °C. These properties along with the high electrochemical stability rendered the use of this material as an electrolyte in an electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC. The EDLC was assembled and its performance was tested by cyclic voltammetry, AC impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge-discharge methods. Specific capacitance values in the range of 4-7 F/g. (of electrode active material were obtained in the plastic crystal phase at 15 °C, that although compare well with those reported for some polymer electrolytes, can be still enhanced with further development of the device and its components, and only demonstrate their great potential use for capacitors as a new application.

  17. An All-Solid-State Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitor Based on a Plastic Crystal Electrolyte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abouimrane, Ali; Belharouak, Ilias [Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, Doha (Qatar); Abu-Lebdeh, Yaser A., E-mail: yaser.abu-lebdeh@nrc.gc.ca [Energy, Mining and Environment Portfolio and Automotive and Surface Transportation Portfolio, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

    2015-08-18

    A plastic crystal, solid electrolyte was prepared by mixing tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate salt, (C{sub 4}H{sub 9}){sub 4}-NPF{sub 6}, (10 molar %) with succinonitrile, SCN, (N≡C−CH{sub 2}−CH{sub 2}−C≡N), [SCN-10%TBA-PF{sub 6}]. The resultant waxy material shows a plastic crystalline phase that extends from −36°C up to its melting at 23°C. It shows a high ionic conductivity reaching 4 × 10{sup -5} S/cm in the plastic crystal phase (15°C) and ~ 3 × 10{sup -3} S/cm in the molten state (25°C). These properties along with the high electrochemical stability rendered the use of this material as an electrolyte in an electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC). The EDLC was assembled, and its performance was tested by cyclic voltammetry, AC impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic charge–discharge methods. Specific capacitance values in the range of 4–7 F/g (of electrode active material) were obtained in the plastic crystal phase at 15°C, that although compare well with those reported for some polymer electrolytes, can be still enhanced with further development of the device and its components, and only demonstrate their great potential use for capacitors as a new application.

  18. An All-Solid-State Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitor Based on a Plastic Crystal Electrolyte

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abouimrane, Ali; Belharouak, Ilias; Abu-Lebdeh, Yaser A.

    2015-01-01

    A plastic crystal, solid electrolyte was prepared by mixing tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate salt, (C 4 H 9 ) 4 -NPF 6 , (10 molar %) with succinonitrile, SCN, (N≡C−CH 2 −CH 2 −C≡N), [SCN-10%TBA-PF 6 ]. The resultant waxy material shows a plastic crystalline phase that extends from −36°C up to its melting at 23°C. It shows a high ionic conductivity reaching 4 × 10 -5 S/cm in the plastic crystal phase (15°C) and ~ 3 × 10 -3 S/cm in the molten state (25°C). These properties along with the high electrochemical stability rendered the use of this material as an electrolyte in an electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC). The EDLC was assembled, and its performance was tested by cyclic voltammetry, AC impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic charge–discharge methods. Specific capacitance values in the range of 4–7 F/g (of electrode active material) were obtained in the plastic crystal phase at 15°C, that although compare well with those reported for some polymer electrolytes, can be still enhanced with further development of the device and its components, and only demonstrate their great potential use for capacitors as a new application.

  19. A dark hollow beam from a selectively liquid-filled photonic crystal fibre

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mei-Yan, Zhang; Shu-Guang, Li; Yan-Yan, Yao; Bo, Fu; Lei, Zhang

    2010-01-01

    This paper reports that, based on the electromagnetic scattering theory of the multipole method, a high-quality hollow beam is produced through a selectively liquid-filled photonic crystal fibre. Instead of a doughnut shape, a typical hollow beam is produced by other methods; the mode-field images of the hollow-beam photonic crystal fibre satisfy sixth-order rotation symmetry, according to the symmetry of the photonic crystal fibre (PCF) structure. A dark spot size of the liquid-filled photonic crystal fibre-generated hollow beam can be tuned by inserting liquid into the cladding region and varying the photonic crystal fibre structure parameters. The liquid-filled PCF makes a convenient and flexible tool for the guiding and trapping of atoms and the creation of all-fibre optical tweezers. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  20. Liquid Crystal Gel Reduces Age Spots by Promoting Skin Turnover

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mina Musashi

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Studies have shown that liquid crystals structurally resembling the intercellular lipids in the stratum corneum can beneficially affect the skin when applied topically by stimulating the skin’s natural regenerative functions and accelerating epidermal turnover. In the present study, the effects of applying low concentrations of a liquid crystal gel of our own creation were evaluated using epidermal thickening in mouse skin as an assay for effective stimulation of epidermal turnover. A liquid crystal gel was also applied topically to human facial skin, and analysis was conducted using before-and-after photographs of age spots, measurements of L* values that reflect degree of skin pigmentation, single-layer samples of the stratum corneum obtained via tape-stripping, and measurements of trans-epidermal water loss that reflect the status of the skin’s barrier function. The results suggested that cost-effective creams containing as low as 5% liquid crystal gel might be effective and safely sold as skin care products targeting age spots and other problems relating to uneven skin pigmentation.

  1. Liquid-Crystal Thermosets, a New Generation of High-Performance Liquid-Crystal Polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dingemans, Theo; Weiser, Erik; Hou, Tan; Jensen, Brian; St. Clair, Terry

    2004-01-01

    One of the major challenges for NASA's next-generation reusable-launch-vehicle (RLV) program is the design of a cryogenic lightweight composite fuel tank. Potential matrix resin systems need to exhibit a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), good mechanical strength, and excellent barrier properties at cryogenic temperatures under load. In addition, the resin system needs to be processable by a variety of non-autoclavable techniques, such as vacuum-bag curing, resin-transfer molding (RTM), vacuum-assisted resin-transfer molding (VaRTM), resin-film infusion (RFI), pultrusion, and advanced tow placement (ATP). To meet these requirements, the Advanced Materials and Processing Branch (AMPB) at NASA Langley Research Center developed a new family of wholly aromatic liquid-crystal oligomers that can be processed and thermally cross-linked while maintaining their liquid-crystal order. All the monomers were polymerized in the presence of a cross-linkable unit by use of an environmentally benign melt-condensation technique. This method does not require hazardous solvents, and the only side product is acetic acid. The final product can be obtained as a powder or granulate and has an infinite shelf life. The obtained oligomers melt into a nematic phase and do not exhibit isotropization temperatures greater than the temperatures of decomposition (Ti > T(sub dec)). Three aromatic formulations were designed and tested and included esters, ester-amides, and ester-imides. One of the major advantages of this invention, named LaRC-LCR or Langley Research Center-Liquid Crystal Resin, is the ability to control a variety of resin characteristics, such as melting temperature, viscosity, and the cross-link density of the final part. Depending on the formulation, oligomers can be prepared with melt viscosities in the range of 10-10,000 poise (100 rad/s), which can easily be melt-processed using a variety of composite-processing techniques. This capability provides NASA with custom

  2. Thin aligned organic polymer films for liquid crystal devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foster, Kathryn Ellen

    1997-01-01

    This project was designed to investigate the possibility of producing alignment layers for liquid crystal devices by cross-linking thin films containing anisotropic polymer bound chromophores via irradiation with polarised ultraviolet light. Photocross-linkable polymers find use in microelectronics, liquid crystal displays, printing and UV curable lacquers and inks; so there is an increasing incentive for the development of new varieties of photopolymers in general. The synthesis and characterisation of two new photopolymers that are suitable as potential alignment layers for liquid crystal devices are reported in this thesis. The first polymer contains the anthracene chromophore attached via a spacer unit to a methacrylate backbone and the second used a similarly attached aryl azide group. Copolymers of the new monomers with methyl methacrylate were investigated to establish reactivity ratios in order to understand composition drift during polymerisation. (author)

  3. Spectroscopic investigation of the far-infrared properties of liquid crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reuter, M.; Vieweg, N.; Fischer, B. M.

    2013-01-01

    Liquid crystals are one of the most promising base materials for switchable devices at THz frequencies. Therefore, a precise understanding of the optical parameters is crucial. Here, we present the refractive indices and absorption coefficients for 5 CB and an isothiocyanate terminated liquid...... crystal over a broad frequency range from 0.3 THz to 15 THz....

  4. Do protein crystals nucleate within dense liquid clusters?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maes, Dominique; Vorontsova, Maria A.; Potenza, Marco A. C.; Sanvito, Tiziano; Sleutel, Mike; Giglio, Marzio; Vekilov, Peter G.

    2015-01-01

    The evolution of protein-rich clusters and nucleating crystals were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), confocal depolarized dynamic light scattering (cDDLS) and depolarized oblique illumination dark-field microscopy. Newly nucleated crystals within protein-rich clusters were detected directly. These observations indicate that the protein-rich clusters are locations for crystal nucleation. Protein-dense liquid clusters are regions of high protein concentration that have been observed in solutions of several proteins. The typical cluster size varies from several tens to several hundreds of nanometres and their volume fraction remains below 10 −3 of the solution. According to the two-step mechanism of nucleation, the protein-rich clusters serve as locations for and precursors to the nucleation of protein crystals. While the two-step mechanism explained several unusual features of protein crystal nucleation kinetics, a direct observation of its validity for protein crystals has been lacking. Here, two independent observations of crystal nucleation with the proteins lysozyme and glucose isomerase are discussed. Firstly, the evolutions of the protein-rich clusters and nucleating crystals were characterized simultaneously by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and confocal depolarized dynamic light scattering (cDDLS), respectively. It is demonstrated that protein crystals appear following a significant delay after cluster formation. The cDDLS correlation functions follow a Gaussian decay, indicative of nondiffusive motion. A possible explanation is that the crystals are contained inside large clusters and are driven by the elasticity of the cluster surface. Secondly, depolarized oblique illumination dark-field microscopy reveals the evolution from liquid clusters without crystals to newly nucleated crystals contained in the clusters to grown crystals freely diffusing in the solution. Collectively, the observations indicate that the protein-rich clusters in

  5. Hardening and strengthening behavior in rate-independent strain gradient crystal plasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nellemann, C.; Niordson, C. F.; Nielsen, K.L.

    2018-01-01

    Two rate-independent strain gradient crystal plasticity models, one new and one previously published, are compared and a numerical framework that encompasses both is developed. The model previously published is briefly outlined, while an in-depth description is given for the new, yet somewhat...... related,model. The difference between the two models is found in the definitions of the plastic work expended in the material and their relation to spatial gradients of plastic strains. The model predictions are highly relevant to the ongoing discussion in the literature, concerning 1) what governs...... the increase in the apparent yield stress due to strain gradients (also referred to as strengthening)? And 2), what is the implication of such strengthening in relation to crystalline material behavior at the micron scale? The present work characterizes material behavior, and the corresponding plastic slip...

  6. Time-resolved crystallization of deeply cooled liquid hydrogen isotopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuehnel, Matthias

    2014-02-15

    This thesis serves two main purposes: 1. The introduction of a novel experimental method to investigate phase change dynamics of supercooled liquids 2. First-time measurements for the crystallization behaviour for hydrogen isotopes under various conditions (1) The new method is established by the synergy of a liquid microjet of ∼ 5 μm diameter and a scattering technique with high spatial resolution, here linear Raman spectroscopy. Due to the high directional stability and the known velocity of the liquid filament, its traveling axis corresponds to a time axis static in space. Utilizing evaporative cooling in a vacuum environment, the propagating liquid cools down rapidly and eventually experiences a phase transition to the crystalline state. This temporal evolution is probed along the filament axis, ultimately resulting in a time resolution of 10 ns. The feasibility of this approach is proven successfully within the following experiments. (2) A main object of study are para-hydrogen liquid filaments. Raman spectra reveal a temperature gradient of the liquid across the filament. This behaviour can quantitatively be reconstructed by numerical simulations using a layered model and is rooted in the effectiveness of evaporative cooling on the surface and a finite thermal conductivity. The deepest supercoolings achieved are ∼ 30% below the melting point, at which the filament starts to solidify from the surface towards the core. With a crystal growth velocity extracted from the data the appropriate growth mechanism is identified. The crystal structure that initially forms is metastable and probably the result of Ostwald's rule of stages. Indications for a transition within the solid towards the stable equilibrium phase support this interpretation. The analog isotope ortho-deuterium is evidenced to behave qualitatively similar with quantitative differences being mass related. In further measurements, isotopic mixtures of para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium are

  7. Time-resolved crystallization of deeply cooled liquid hydrogen isotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuehnel, Matthias

    2014-02-01

    This thesis serves two main purposes: 1. The introduction of a novel experimental method to investigate phase change dynamics of supercooled liquids 2. First-time measurements for the crystallization behaviour for hydrogen isotopes under various conditions (1) The new method is established by the synergy of a liquid microjet of ∼ 5 μm diameter and a scattering technique with high spatial resolution, here linear Raman spectroscopy. Due to the high directional stability and the known velocity of the liquid filament, its traveling axis corresponds to a time axis static in space. Utilizing evaporative cooling in a vacuum environment, the propagating liquid cools down rapidly and eventually experiences a phase transition to the crystalline state. This temporal evolution is probed along the filament axis, ultimately resulting in a time resolution of 10 ns. The feasibility of this approach is proven successfully within the following experiments. (2) A main object of study are para-hydrogen liquid filaments. Raman spectra reveal a temperature gradient of the liquid across the filament. This behaviour can quantitatively be reconstructed by numerical simulations using a layered model and is rooted in the effectiveness of evaporative cooling on the surface and a finite thermal conductivity. The deepest supercoolings achieved are ∼ 30% below the melting point, at which the filament starts to solidify from the surface towards the core. With a crystal growth velocity extracted from the data the appropriate growth mechanism is identified. The crystal structure that initially forms is metastable and probably the result of Ostwald's rule of stages. Indications for a transition within the solid towards the stable equilibrium phase support this interpretation. The analog isotope ortho-deuterium is evidenced to behave qualitatively similar with quantitative differences being mass related. In further measurements, isotopic mixtures of para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium are

  8. Time-resolved crystallization of deeply cooled liquid hydrogen isotopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuehnel, Matthias

    2014-02-15

    This thesis serves two main purposes: 1. The introduction of a novel experimental method to investigate phase change dynamics of supercooled liquids 2. First-time measurements for the crystallization behaviour for hydrogen isotopes under various conditions (1) The new method is established by the synergy of a liquid microjet of ∼ 5 μm diameter and a scattering technique with high spatial resolution, here linear Raman spectroscopy. Due to the high directional stability and the known velocity of the liquid filament, its traveling axis corresponds to a time axis static in space. Utilizing evaporative cooling in a vacuum environment, the propagating liquid cools down rapidly and eventually experiences a phase transition to the crystalline state. This temporal evolution is probed along the filament axis, ultimately resulting in a time resolution of 10 ns. The feasibility of this approach is proven successfully within the following experiments. (2) A main object of study are para-hydrogen liquid filaments. Raman spectra reveal a temperature gradient of the liquid across the filament. This behaviour can quantitatively be reconstructed by numerical simulations using a layered model and is rooted in the effectiveness of evaporative cooling on the surface and a finite thermal conductivity. The deepest supercoolings achieved are ∼ 30% below the melting point, at which the filament starts to solidify from the surface towards the core. With a crystal growth velocity extracted from the data the appropriate growth mechanism is identified. The crystal structure that initially forms is metastable and probably the result of Ostwald's rule of stages. Indications for a transition within the solid towards the stable equilibrium phase support this interpretation. The analog isotope ortho-deuterium is evidenced to behave qualitatively similar with quantitative differences being mass related. In further measurements, isotopic mixtures of para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium are

  9. Old and new ideas in ferroelectric liquid crystal technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagerwall, Sven T.; Matuszczyk, M.; Matuszczyk, T.

    1998-02-01

    Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC) are to conventional liquid crystal what Gallium Arsenide is to Silicon in the semiconductor area. The first generation of FLC displays in now present on the market and has some outstanding features based on the symmetric bistability which may be achieved in these materials. One of the greatest challenges for the next generation is to achieve an analog grey scale out of an essentially digital principle. We will analyze in some detail which major problems had to be solved to reach the present state and show how the final steps could be taken toward a new state-of-the-art level in liquid crystal devices. In the last decade university research and industrial R and D have almost equally contributed to treat the very serious complications caused by the so-called chevron structures We will review this important topic in particular detail.

  10. Ion Density Analysis of Single-Stranded DNA in Liquid Crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwabata, Kazuki; Seki, Yasutaka; Toizumi, Ryota; Shimada, Yuki; Furue, Hirokazu; Sakaguchi, Kengo

    2013-09-01

    With the widespread use of liquid crystals (LCs) in liquid crystal displays, we have looked into the application of liquid crystals in biotechnology. The purpose of the study described here is to investigate the physical properties of DNA using LCs. Synthetic oligonucleotide molecules were dispersed in MLC6884, the sample injected into antiparallel cells, and the amount of mobile ions was measured. The LC cell doped with oligonucleotide molecules showed a sequence-dependent, specific correlation between oligonucleotide concentration and the amount of mobile ions in the LC cells. In the framework of the Stokes model and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) analysis, we speculate that this result arises from the difference in ion mobility, which is caused by the shape of the oligonucleotide molecule in the LC.

  11. Mechanoluminescence response to the plastic flow of coloured alkali halide crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandra, B.P.; Bagri, A.K.; Chandra, V.K.

    2010-01-01

    The present paper reports the luminescence induced by plastic deformation of coloured alkali halide crystals using pressure steps. When pressure is applied onto a γ-irradiated alkali halide crystal, then initially the mechanoluminescence (ML) intensity increases with time, attains a peak value and later on it decreases with time. The ML of diminished intensity also appears during the release of applied pressure. The intensity I m corresponding to the peak of ML intensity versus time curve and the total ML intensity I T increase with increase in value of the applied pressure. The time t m corresponding to the ML peak slightly decreases with the applied pressure. After t m , initially the ML intensity decreases at a fast rate and later on it decreases at a slow rate. The decay time of the fast decrease in the ML intensity is equal to the pinning time of dislocations and the decay time for the slow decrease of ML intensity is equal to the diffusion time of holes towards the F-centres. The ML intensity increases with the density of F-centres and it is optimum for a particular temperature of the crystals. The ML spectra of coloured alkali halide crystals are similar to the thermoluminescence and afterglow spectra. The peak ML intensity and the total ML intensity increase drastically with the applied pressure following power law, whereby the pressure dependence of the ML intensity is related to the work-hardening exponent of the crystals. The ML also appears during the release of the applied pressure because of the movement of dislocation segments and movements of dislocation lines blocked under pressed condition. On the basis of the model based on the mechanical interaction between dislocation and F-centres, expressions are derived for the ML intensity, which are able to explain different characteristics of the ML. From the measurements of the plastico ML induced by the application of loads on γ-irradiated alkali halide crystals, the pinning time of dislocations

  12. Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Based Reflex Color Reflective Displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Asad

    2012-02-01

    Bistable color cholesteric liquid crystal displays are unique LCDs that exhibit high reflectivity, good contrast, extremely low power operation, and are amenable to versatile roll-to-roll manufacturing. The display technology, now branded as Reflex has been in commercialized products since 1996. It has been the subject of extensive research and development globally by a variety of parties in both academic and industrial settings. Today, the display technology is in volume production for applications such as dedicated eWriters (Boogie Board), full color electronic skins (eSkin), and displays for smart cards. The flexibility comes from polymerization induced phase separation using unique materials unparalleled in any other display technology. The blend of monomers, polymers, cross linkers, and other components along with nematic liquid crystals and chiral dopants is created and processed in such ways so as to enable highly efficient manufactrable displays using ultra thin plastic substrates -- often as thin as 50μm. Other significant aspects include full color by stacking or spatial separation, night vision capability, ultra high resolution, as well as active matrix capabilities. Of particular note is the stacking approach of Reflex based displays to show full color. This approach for reflective color displays is unique to this technology. Owing to high transparency in wavelength bands outside the selective reflection band, three primarily color layers can be stacked on top of each other and reflect without interfering with other layers. This highly surprising architecture enables the highest reflectivity of any other reflective electronic color display technology. The optics, architecture, electro-topics, and process techniques will be discussed. This presentation will focus on the physics of the core technology and color, it's evolution from rigid glass based displays to flexible displays, development of products from the paradigm shifting concepts to consumer

  13. Ultraviolet-pumped liquid-crystal dye-laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertolotti, M.; Sbrolli, L.; Scudieri, F.; Papa, T.

    1981-01-01

    The possibility offered by the orientation properties of liquid crystals as a matrix for dye lasers is shown. In particular, the linear polarization of emitted light can be changed by acting with an external magnetic field on the molecular nematic director. (author)

  14. Calculation of Optical Parameters of Liquid Crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, A.

    2007-12-01

    Validation of a modified four-parameter model describing temperature effect on liquid crystal refractive indices is being reported in the present article. This model is based upon the Vuks equation. Experimental data of ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices for two liquid crystal samples MLC-9200-000 and MLC-6608 are used to validate the above-mentioned theoretical model. Using these experimental data, birefringence, order parameter, normalized polarizabilities, and the temperature gradient of refractive indices are determined. Two methods: directly using birefringence measurements and using Haller's extrapolation procedure are adopted for the determination of order parameter. Both approches of order parameter calculation are compared. The temperature dependences of all these parameters are discussed. A close agreement between theory and experiment is obtained.

  15. NMR studies of macroscopic and microscopic properties of liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hughes, J.R.

    1998-03-01

    The work presented is concerned with studies of orientational order in liquid crystals and the behaviour of certain mesophases. The experimental technique used in common with all the work is deuterium NMR spectroscopy. Much of the work involves studies of the orientational order of deuteriated solute molecules dissolved in liquid crystal solvents. Chapter 1 gives an introduction to liquid crystals followed by a quantitative description of orientational order. Deuterium NMR in liquid crystals is described and an outline of the molecular field theory behind the orientational order of a rigid, biaxial solute in a uniaxial mesophase is given. In Chapter 2 a novel type of mesophase induction is studied using NMR, where a solute induces up to two extra phases in a discotic mesogen depending on its concentration. The purpose of this work is to try to gain an understanding into the mechanism of the phase induction involved. Chapter 3 is concerned primarily with the macroscopic behaviour of the nematic phase formed by a semi-rigid main-chain polymer in solution. Of particular interest is the study of the reorientation of the monodomain, once the director has been rotated with respect to the magnetic field of the NMR spectrometer. A mesogen which has been claimed to exhibit a biaxial nematic phase is studied in Chapter 4, in order to determine the symmetry of the phase using NMR. Finally, Chapter 5 deals with the differing behaviour of a liquid crystal monomer and its dimer dissolved in common nematic solvents in order to determine whether this agrees with molecular field theory. (author)

  16. Chemistry of Discotic Liquid Crystals From Monomers to Polymers

    CERN Document Server

    Kumar, Sandeep

    2010-01-01

    Compiling the scattered literature into a single seminal work, this book describes the basic design principles, synthesis, and mesomorphic properties of discotic liquid crystals. Of fundamental importance as models for the study of energy and charge migration in self-organized systems, discotic liquid crystals find functional application as one-dimensional conductors, photoconductors, light emitting diodes, photovoltaic solar cells, field-effect transistors, and gas sensors. This book highlights the scientific concepts behind the hierarchical self-assembly of these disc-shaped molecules alongs

  17. Bond orientational ordering in a metastable supercooled liquid: a shadow of crystallization and liquid–liquid transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, Hajime

    2010-01-01

    It is widely believed that a liquid state can be characterized by a single order parameter, density, and that a transition from a liquid to solid can be described by density ordering (translational ordering). For example, this type of theory has had great success in describing the phase behaviour of hard spheres. However, there are some features that cannot be captured by such theories. For example, hard spheres crystallize into either hcp or fcc structures, without a tendency of bcc ordering which is expected by the Alexander–McTague theory based on the Landau-type free energy of the density order parameter. We also found hcp-like bond orientational ordering in a metastable supercooled liquid, which promotes nucleation of hcp crystals. Furthermore, theories based on the single order parameter cannot explain water-like thermodynamic and kinetic anomalies of a liquid and liquid–liquid transition in a single-component liquid. Based on these facts, we argue that we need an additional order parameter to describe a liquid state. It is bond orientational order, which is induced by dense packing in hard spheres or by directional bonding in molecular and atomic liquids. Bond orientational order is intrinsically of local nature, unlike translational order which is of global nature. This feature plays a unique role in crystallization and quasicrystal formation. We also reveal that bond orientational ordering is a cause of dynamic heterogeneity near a glass transition and is linked to slow dynamics. In relation to this, we note that, for describing the structuring of a highly disordered liquid, we need a structural signature of low configurational entropy, which is more general than bond orientational order. Finally, the water-like anomaly and liquid–liquid transition can be explained by bond orientational ordering due to hydrogen or covalent bonding and its cooperativity, respectively. So we argue that bond orientational ordering is a key to the physical understanding

  18. The opto-thermal effect on encapsulated cholesteric liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yu-Sung; Lin, Hui-Chi; Yang, Kin-Min

    2017-12-01

    In this study, we implemented a micro-encapsulated CLC electronic paper that is optically addressed and electrically erasable. The mechanism that forms spot diameters on the CLC films is discussed and verified through various experimental parameters, including the thickness of CLCs and Poly(2,3-dihydrothieno-1,4-dioxin)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), pump intensity, and pumping time. The opto-thermal effect, brought on by the PEDOT:PSS absorbing layer, causes the spot diameters on the cholesteric liquid crystal thin films to vary. According to our results, the spot diameter is larger for a sample with a thinner cholesteric liquid crystal layer with the same excitation conditions and same thickness of the PEDOT layer. The spot diameter is also larger for a sample with a thicker PEDOT under the same excitation conditions and same thickness of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer. We proposed a simple heat-conducting model to explain the experimental results, which qualitatively agree with this theoretical model.

  19. Modelling irradiation-induced softening in BCC iron by crystal plasticity approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao, Xiazi; Terentyev, Dmitry; Yu, Long; Song, Dingkun; Bakaev, A.; Duan, Huiling

    2015-01-01

    Crystal plasticity model (CPM) for BCC iron to account for radiation-induced strain softening is proposed. CPM is based on the plastically-driven and thermally-activated removal of dislocation loops. Atomistic simulations are applied to parameterize dislocation-defect interactions. Combining experimental microstructures, defect-hardening/absorption rules from atomistic simulations, and CPM fitted to properties of non-irradiated iron, the model achieves a good agreement with experimental data regarding radiation-induced strain softening and flow stress increase under neutron irradiation. - Highlights: • A stress- and thermal-activated defect absorption model is proposed for the dislocation-loop interaction. • A temperature-dependent plasticity theory is proposed for the irradiation-induced strain softening of irradiated BCC metals. • The numerical results of the model match with the corresponding experimental data.

  20. Modelling irradiation-induced softening in BCC iron by crystal plasticity approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiao, Xiazi [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); CAPT, HEDPS and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center of MoE, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Terentyev, Dmitry, E-mail: dterenty@SCKCEN.BE [Structural Material Group, Institute of Nuclear Materials Science, SCK-CEN, Mol (Belgium); Yu, Long; Song, Dingkun [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Bakaev, A. [Structural Material Group, Institute of Nuclear Materials Science, SCK-CEN, Mol (Belgium); Duan, Huiling, E-mail: hlduan@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); CAPT, HEDPS and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center of MoE, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

    2015-11-15

    Crystal plasticity model (CPM) for BCC iron to account for radiation-induced strain softening is proposed. CPM is based on the plastically-driven and thermally-activated removal of dislocation loops. Atomistic simulations are applied to parameterize dislocation-defect interactions. Combining experimental microstructures, defect-hardening/absorption rules from atomistic simulations, and CPM fitted to properties of non-irradiated iron, the model achieves a good agreement with experimental data regarding radiation-induced strain softening and flow stress increase under neutron irradiation. - Highlights: • A stress- and thermal-activated defect absorption model is proposed for the dislocation-loop interaction. • A temperature-dependent plasticity theory is proposed for the irradiation-induced strain softening of irradiated BCC metals. • The numerical results of the model match with the corresponding experimental data.

  1. Ionic diffusion and salt dissociation conditions of lithium liquid crystal electrolytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Yuria; Hirai, Kenichi; Murata, Shuuhei; Kishii, Yutaka; Kii, Keisuke; Yoshio, Masafumi; Kato, Takashi

    2005-06-16

    Salt dissociation conditions and dynamic properties of ionic species in liquid crystal electrolytes of lithium were investigated by a combination of NMR spectra and diffusion coefficient estimations using the pulsed gradient spin-echo NMR techniques. Activation energies of diffusion (Ea) of ionic species changed with the phase transition of the electrolyte. That is, Ea of the nematic phase was lower than that of the isotropic phase. This indicates that the aligned liquid crystal molecules prepared efficient conduction pathways for migration of ionic species. The dissociation degree of the salt was lower compared with those of the conventional electrolyte solutions and polymer gel electrolytes. This is attributed to the low concentration of polar sites, which attract the dissolved salt and promote salt dissociation, on the liquid crystal molecules. Furthermore, motional restriction of the molecules due to high viscosity and molecular oriented configuration in the nematic phase caused inefficient attraction of the sites for the salt. With a decreased dissolved salt concentration of the liquid crystal electrolyte, salt dissociation proceeded, and two diffusion components attributed to the ion and ion pair were detected independently. This means that the exchange rate between the ion and the ion pair is fairly slow once the salt is dissociated in the liquid crystal electrolytes due to the low motility of the medium molecules that initiate salt dissociation.

  2. Functional Smart Dispersed Liquid Crystals for Nano- and Biophotonic Applications: Nanoparticles-Assisted Optical Bioimaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. V. Kamanina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Functional nematic liquid crystal structures doped with nano- and bioobjects have been investigated. The self-assembling features and the photorefractive parameters of the structured liquid crystals have been comparatively studied via microscopy and laser techniques. Fullerene, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, DNA, and erythrocytes have been considered as the effective nano- and biosensitizers of the LC mesophase. The holographic recording technique based on four-wave mixing of the laser beams has been used to investigate the laser-induced change of the refractive index in the nano- and bioobjects-doped liquid crystal cells. The special accent has been given to novel nanostructured relief with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes at the interface: solid substrate-liquid crystal mesophase. It has been shown that this nanostructured relief influences the orienting ability of the liquid crystal molecules with good advantage. As a result, it provokes the orientation of the DNA. The modified functional liquid crystal materials have been proposed as the perspective systems for both the photonics and biology as well as the medical applications.

  3. Recent developments in plastic scintillators with pulse shape discrimination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaitseva, N. P.; Glenn, A. M.; Mabe, A. N.; Carman, M. L.; Hurlbut, C. R.; Inman, J. W.; Payne, S. A.

    2018-05-01

    The paper reports results of studies conducted to improve scintillation performance of plastic scintillators capable of neutron/gamma pulse-shape discrimination (PSD). Compositional modifications made with the polymer matrix improved physical stability, allowing for increased loads of the primary dye that, in combination with selected secondary dyes, provided enhanced PSD especially important for the lower energy ranges. Additional measurements were made with a newly-introduced PSD plastic EJ-276, that replaces the first commercially produced EJ-299. Comparative studies conducted with the new materials and EJ-309 liquids at large scale (up to 10 cm) show that current plastics may provide scintillation and PSD performance sufficient for the replacement of liquid scintillators. Comparison to stilbene single crystals compliments the information about the status of the solid-state materials recently developed for fast neutron detection applications.

  4. Synergistic Effects of Nucleating Agents and Plasticizers on the Crystallization Behavior of Poly(lactic acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuetao Shi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The synergistic effect of nucleating agents and plasticizers on the thermal and mechanical performance of PLA nanocomposites was investigated with the objective of increasing the crystallinity and balancing the stiffness and toughness of PLA mechanical properties. Calcium carbonate, halloysite nanotubes, talc and LAK (sulfates were compared with each other as heterogeneous nucleating agents. Both the DSC isothermal and non-isothermal studies indicated that talc and LAK were the more effective nucleating agents among the selected fillers. Poly(D-lactic acid (PDLA acted also as a nucleating agent due to the formation of the PLA stereocomplex. The half crystallization time was reduced by the addition of talc to about 2 min from 37.5 min of pure PLA by the isothermal crystallization study. The dynamic mechanical thermal study (DMTA indicated that nanofillers acted as both reinforcement fillers and nucleating agents in relation to the higher storage modulus. The plasticized PLA studied by DMTA indicated a decreasing glass transition temperature with the increasing of the PEG content. The addition of nanofiller increased the Young’s modulus. PEG had the plasticization effect of increasing the break deformation, while sharply decreasing the stiffness and strength of PLA. The synergistic effect of nanofillers and plasticizer achieved the balance between stiffness and toughness with well-controlled crystallization.

  5. Evanescent Field Enhancement in Liquid Crystal Optical Fibers: A Field Characteristics Based Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. K. Choudhury

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the analysis of the electromagnetic wave propagation through liquid crystal optical fibers (LCOFs of two different types—conventional guides loaded with liquid crystals (addressed as LCOFs and those with additional twists due to conducting helical windings (addressed as HCLCOFs. More precisely, the three-layer optical waveguide structures are considered along with its outermost region being loaded with radially anisotropic liquid crystal material and the inner regions being made of usual silica, as used in conventional optical fibers. In addition to that, LCOF with twists introduced in the form of conducting helical windings at the interface of the silica core and the liquid crystal clad is also taken into account. Emphasis has been put on the power confinements by the lower-order TE modes sustained in the different sections of the LCOF structure. The results demonstrate useful applications of these guides in integrated optics as the power sustained in the liquid crystal section by the excited TE modes remains very high. In the case of twisted clad liquid crystal guides, descriptions are limited to the nature of dispersion relation only under the TE mode excitation, and corresponding to the cases of helix orientations being parallel and perpendicular to the optical axis.

  6. Thermotropic liquid crystals recent advances

    CERN Document Server

    Ramamoorthy, Ayyalusamy

    2007-01-01

    This book covers developments in the field of thermotropic liquid crystals and their functional importance. It also presents advances related to different sub-areas pertinent to this interdisciplinary area of research. This text brings together research from synthetic scientists and spectroscopists and attempts to bridge the gaps between these areas. New physical techniques that are powerful in characterizing these materials are discussed.

  7. Synthesis of carbonated hydroxyapatite nanorods in liquid crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniella Dias Palombino de Campos

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Syntheses of calcium phosphate nanoparticles, carried out in systems formed from surfactant, oil and water, have resulted in materials with promising possibilities for application. The calcium phosphate particles were synthesized using two different liquid crystals, formed from RenexTM, cyclohexane and a salts solution. The morphology of the nanoparticles synthesized in the liquid crystals is similar to that of hydroxyapatite particles that form bone mineral, where collagen fibers connect these particles so as to form a composite. Therefore, the synthesis of calcium phosphate nanoparticles in the systems used in this work can advance current understanding of mineralization processes that result in the formation of bone mineral.

  8. Liquid Crystal Airborne Display

    Science.gov (United States)

    1977-08-01

    Cum.nings, J. P., et al., Properties and Limitations oe Liquid Crystals for Aircraft Displays, Honeywell Corporate Researc ."I Center, Final Report HR-72...basic module could be used to build displays for both the commercial and military! 157- marhecs, and so would establi sh a broad and sizable market ... market for the display becomes a reality; therein lies, f TABLE 16 THE COURSE OF FUTURE DISPLAY DEVELOPMENT Today 1976-77 1980 1985 Display Size 2" 1 3.2

  9. The finite-size effect in thin liquid crystal systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Śliwa, I.

    2018-05-01

    Effects of surface ordering in liquid crystal systems confined between cell plates are of great theoretical and experimental interest. Liquid crystals introduced in thin cells are known to be strongly stabilized and ordered by cell plates. We introduce a new theoretical method for analyzing the effect of surfaces on local molecular ordering in thin liquid crystal systems with planar geometry of the smectic layers. Our results show that, due to the interplay between pair long-range intermolecular forces and nonlocal, relatively short-range, surface interactions, both orientational and translational orders of liquid crystal molecules across confining cells are very complex. In particular, it is demonstrated that the SmA, nematic, and isotropic phases can coexist. The phase transitions from SmA to nematic, as well as from nematic to isotropic phases, occur not simultaneously in the whole volume of the system but begin to appear locally in some regions of the LC sample. Phase transition temperatures are demonstrated to be strongly affected by the thickness of the LC system. The dependence of the corresponding shifts of phase transition temperatures on the layer number is shown to exhibit a power law character. This new type of scaling behavior is concerned with the coexistence of local phases in finite systems. The influence of a specific character of interactions of molecules with surfaces and other molecules on values of the resulting critical exponents is also analyzed.

  10. Chiral-nematic liquid crystals as one dimensional photonic materials in optical sensors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mulder, D.J.; Schenning, A.P.H.J.; Bastiaansen, C.W.M.

    2014-01-01

    Current developments in the field of thermotropic chiral-nematic liquid crystals as sensors are discussed. These one dimensional photonic materials are based on low molecular weight liquid crystals and chiral-nematic polymeric networks. For both low molecular weight LCs and polymer networks,

  11. Thermal tunability of photonic bandgaps in liquid crystal infiltrated microstructured polymer optical fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yuan, Scott Wu; Wei, Lei; Alkeskjold, Thomas Tanggaard

    2009-01-01

    We demonstrate the photonic bandgap effect and the thermal tunability of bandgaps in microstructured polymer optical fibers infiltrated with liquid crystal. Two liquid crystals with opposite sign of the temperature gradient of the ordinary refractive index (E7 and MDA-00- 1444) are used to demons......We demonstrate the photonic bandgap effect and the thermal tunability of bandgaps in microstructured polymer optical fibers infiltrated with liquid crystal. Two liquid crystals with opposite sign of the temperature gradient of the ordinary refractive index (E7 and MDA-00- 1444) are used...... to demonstrate that both signs of the thermal tunability of the bandgaps are possible. The useful bandgaps are ultimately bounded to the visible range by the transparency window of the polymer....

  12. Thermal Analysis, Mechanical and Rheological Behaviour of Melt Manufactured Polyethylene/Liquid Crystal Polymer Blends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilze ELKSNITE

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Modification of properties of conventional thermoplastics with thermotropic liquid crystal polymers, from one hand, allows decrease their viscosities, substantially facilitating processing conditions, and, from another hand, allows increase their exploitation properties. Orientation of the labile structure of liquid crystal polymer in extrusion or injection moulding causes specific reinforcement (so-called self-reinforcement to occur in the blends containing liquid crystal polymer. Up to now the effect of self-reinforcement is mostly investigated in the blends, containing considerable amount of liquid crystal polymer. In this research the effect of minor amounts of liquid crystalline co-polyester modifier on the properties of polyethylene is investigated. Various compositions of laboratory synthesized hydroxybenzoic acid /polyethylene terephtalate copolymer containing polyethylene composites have been manufactured by thermoplastic blending. It has been observed that 1 modulus of elasticity, yield strength and ultimate strength increase with raising the content of liquid crystalline modifier; 2 void content in the investigated polyethylene/liquid crystal copolymer composites is not greater that 1 %; 3 addition of liquid crystalline co-polyester modifier improves arrangement of PE crystalline phase.http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.17.2.483

  13. Adaptive Liquid Crystal Windows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taheri, Bahman; Bodnar, Volodymyr

    2011-12-31

    Energy consumption by private and commercial sectors in the U.S. has steadily grown over the last decade. The uncertainty in future availability of imported oil, on which the energy consumption relies strongly, resulted in a dramatic increase in the cost of energy. About 20% of this consumption are used to heat and cool houses and commercial buildings. To reduce dependence on the foreign oil and cut down emission of greenhouse gases, it is necessary to eliminate losses and reduce total energy consumption by buildings. To achieve this goal it is necessary to redefine the role of the conventional windows. At a minimum, windows should stop being a source for energy loss. Ideally, windows should become a source of energy, providing net gain to reduce energy used to heat and cool homes. It is possible to have a net energy gain from a window if its light transmission can be dynamically altered, ideally electronically without the need of operator assistance, providing optimal control of the solar gain that varies with season and climate in the U.S. In addition, the window must not require power from the building for operation. Resolution of this problem is a societal challenge and of national interest and will have a broad global impact. For this purpose, the year-round, allclimate window solution to provide an electronically variable solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) with a wide dynamic range is needed. AlphaMicron, Inc. (AMI) developed and manufactured 1ft × 1ft prototype panels for the world’s first auto-adjusting Adaptive Liquid Crystal Windows (ALCWs) that can operate from sunlight without the need for external power source and demonstrate an electronically adjustable SHGC. This novel windows are based on AlphaMicron’s patented e-Tint® technology, a guesthost liquid crystal system implemented on flexible, optically clear plastic films. This technology is suitable both for OEM and aftermarket (retro-fitting) lamination to new and existing windows. Low level of

  14. Shrink, twist, ripple and melt: Studies of frustrated liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernsler, Jonathan G.

    Complex structures can arise out of a simple system with more than one competing influence on its behavior. The protypical example of this is the two-dimensional triangular lattice Ising model. The ferromagnetic model has two simple degenerate ground states of all spins up or down, but the antiferromagnetic model is a frustrated system. Its geometry does not allow satisfaction of the antiferro condition everywhere, which produces complex ordered structures with dimerization of the spins [1]. Without frustration, the complex structures and phase behavior are lost. All of the topics discussed in this thesis concern smectic liquid crystals. Liquid crystals are perhaps uniquely adept at manifesting frustrated phases. Their combination of periodicity in one or more dimensions allows ordered structures, yet their fluid nature in remaining dimensions allows creation of defects and extraordinarily complex structures in ways that a normal crystal could not tolerate. Liquid crystals contain a huge menagerie of frustrated phases and effects including the polarization modulated [2], vortex lattice [3], twist grain boundary [4], and blue [5] phases, as well as frustrated structures such as cholesteric or SmC* helix unwinding [6], defect lattices in thin films [7], and bend melted grain boundary defects [8], arising from boundary conditions and field effects. In this thesis, we study four liquid crystal systems that show unusual phase behavior or complex structures, deriving from the effects of frustration. Frustration, despite some human prejudices against the word, leaves nature all the more interesting and beautiful.

  15. A Microwave Tunable Bandpass Filter for Liquid Crystal Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Weiping; Jiang, Di; Liu, Yupeng; Yang, Yuanwang; Gan, Baichuan

    2017-07-01

    In this paper, a novel microwave continuously tunable band-pass filter, based on nematic liquid crystals (LCs), is proposed. It uses liquid crystal (LC) as the electro-optic material to mainly realize frequency shift at microwave band by changing the dielectric anisotropy, when applying the bias voltage. According to simulation results, it achieves 840 MHz offset. Comparing to the existing tunable filter, it has many advantages, such as continuously tunable, miniaturization, low processing costs, low tuning voltage, etc. Thus, it has shown great potentials in frequency domain and practical applications in modern communication.

  16. Flexoelectricity in an oxadiazole bent-core nematic liquid crystal

    OpenAIRE

    Kaur, Sarabjot; Panov, V. P.; Greco, C.; Ferrarini, A.; Görtz, Verena; Goodby, John W.; Gleeson, Helen F.

    2014-01-01

    We have determined experimentally the magnitude of the difference in the splay and bend flexoelectric coefficients, |e 1 − e 3|, of an oxadiazole bent-core liquid crystal by measuring the critical voltage for the formation of flexodomains together with their wave number. The coefficient |e 1 − e 3| is found to be a factor of 2–3 times higher than in most conventional calamitic nematic liquid crystals, varying from 8 pCm−1 to 20 pCm−1 across the ∼60 K—wide nematic regime. We have also calculat...

  17. Cholesteric colloidal liquid crystals from phytosterol rod-like particles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rossi, L.; Sacanna, S.; Velikov, K.P.

    2011-01-01

    We report the first observation of chiral colloidal liquid crystals of rod-like particles from a low molecular weight organic compound— phytosterols. Based on the particles shape and crystal structure, we attribute this phenomenon to chiral distribution of surface charge on the surface of

  18. Reorientation of single-wall carbon nanotubes in negative anisotropy liquid crystals by an electric field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda García-García

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT are anisotropic nanoparticles that can cause modifications in the electrical and electro-optical properties of liquid crystals. The control of the SWCNT concentration, distribution and reorientation in such self-organized fluids allows for the possibility of tuning the liquid crystal properties. The alignment and reorientation of CNTs are studied in a system where the liquid crystal orientation effect has been isolated. Complementary studies including Raman spectroscopy, microscopic inspection and impedance studies were carried out. The results reveal an ordered reorientation of the CNTs induced by an electric field, which does not alter the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules. Moreover, impedance spectroscopy suggests a nonnegligible anchoring force between the CNTs and the liquid crystal molecules.

  19. Comparison of finite element and fast Fourier transform crystal plasticity solvers for texture prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, B; Raabe, D; Roters, F; Eisenlohr, P; Lebensohn, R A

    2010-01-01

    We compare two full-field formulations, i.e. a crystal plasticity fast Fourier transform-based (CPFFT) model and the crystal plasticity finite element model (CPFEM) in terms of the deformation textures predicted by both approaches. Plane-strain compression of a 1024-grain ensemble is simulated with CPFFT and CPFEM to assess the models in terms of their predictions of texture evolution for engineering applications. Different combinations of final textures and strain distributions are obtained with the CPFFT and CPFEM models for this 1024-grain polycrystal. To further understand these different predictions, the correlation between grain rotations and strain gradients is investigated through the simulation of plane-strain compression of bicrystals. Finally, a study of the influence of the initial crystal orientation and the crystallographic neighborhood on grain rotations and grain subdivisions is carried out by means of plane-strain compression simulations of a 64-grain cluster

  20. On a phase field approach for martensitic transformations in a crystal plastic material at a loaded surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Regina; Kuhn, Charlotte; Müller, Ralf

    2017-07-01

    A continuum phase field model for martensitic transformations is introduced, including crystal plasticity with different slip systems for the different phases. In a 2D setting, the transformation-induced eigenstrain is taken into account for two martensitic orientation variants. With aid of the model, the phase transition and its dependence on the volume change, crystal plastic material behavior, and the inheritance of plastic deformations from austenite to martensite are studied in detail. The numerical setup is motivated by the process of cryogenic turning. The resulting microstructure qualitatively coincides with an experimentally obtained martensite structure. For the numerical calculations, finite elements together with global and local implicit time integration scheme are employed.

  1. Sharp Morphological Transitions from Nanoscale Mixed-Anchoring Patterns in Confined Nematic Liquid Crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armas-Pérez, Julio C. [Institute; División; Li, Xiao [Institute; Martínez-González, José A. [Institute; Smith, Coleman [Institute; Hernández-Ortiz, J. P. [Departamento; Nealey, Paul F. [Institute; Materials; de Pablo, Juan J. [Institute; Materials

    2017-08-17

    Liquid crystals are known to be particularly sensitive to orientational cues provided at surfaces or interfaces. In this work, we explore theoretically, computationally, and experimentally the behavior of liquid crystals on isolated nanoscale patterns with controlled anchoring characteristics at small length scales. The orientation of the liquid crystal is controlled through the use of chemically patterned polymer brushes that are tethered to a surface. This system can be engineered with remarkable precision, and the central question addressed here is whether a characteristic length scale exists at which information encoded on a surface is no longer registered by a liquid crystal. To do so, we adopt a tensorial description of the free energy of the hybrid liquidcrystal surface system, and we investigate its morphology in a systematic manner. For long and narrow surface stripes, it is found that the liquid crystal follows the instructions provided by the pattern down to 100 nm widths. This is accomplished through the creation of line defects that travel along the sides of the stripes. We show that a "sharp" morphological transition occurs from a uniform undistorted alignment to a dual uniform/splay-bend morphology. The theoretical and numerical predictions advanced here are confirmed by experimental observations. Our combined analysis suggests that nanoscale patterns can be used to manipulate the orientation of liquid crystals at a fraction of the energetic cost that is involved in traditional liquid crystal-based devices. The insights presented in this work have the potential to provide a new fabrication platform to assemble low power bistable devices, which could be reconfigured upon application of small external fields.

  2. Mixing effects in the crystallization of supercooled quantum binary liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kühnel, M.; Kalinin, A.; Fernández, J. M.; Tejeda, G.; Moreno, E.; Montero, S.; Tramonto, F.; Galli, D. E.; Nava, M.; Grisenti, R. E.

    2015-01-01

    By means of Raman spectroscopy of liquid microjets, we have investigated the crystallization process of supercooled quantum liquid mixtures composed of parahydrogen (pH 2 ) or orthodeuterium (oD 2 ) diluted with small amounts of neon. We show that the introduction of the Ne impurities affects the crystallization kinetics in terms of a significant reduction of the measured pH 2 and oD 2 crystal growth rates, similarly to what found in our previous work on supercooled pH 2 -oD 2 liquid mixtures [Kühnel et al., Phys. Rev. B 89, 180201(R) (2014)]. Our experimental results, in combination with path-integral simulations of the supercooled liquid mixtures, suggest in particular a correlation between the measured growth rates and the ratio of the effective particle sizes originating from quantum delocalization effects. We further show that the crystalline structure of the mixtures is also affected to a large extent by the presence of the Ne impurities, which likely initiate the freezing process through the formation of Ne-rich crystallites

  3. Mixing effects in the crystallization of supercooled quantum binary liquids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kühnel, M.; Kalinin, A. [Institut für Kernphysik, J. W. Goethe-Universität, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Fernández, J. M.; Tejeda, G.; Moreno, E.; Montero, S. [Laboratory of Molecular Fluid Dynamics, Instituto de Estructura de la Materia, CSIC, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Tramonto, F.; Galli, D. E. [Laboratorio di Calcolo Parallelo e di Simulazioni di Materia Condensata, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Nava, M. [Laboratorio di Calcolo Parallelo e di Simulazioni di Materia Condensata, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Computational Science, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, USI Campus, Via Giuseppe Buffi 13, CH-6900 Lugano (Switzerland); Grisenti, R. E. [Institut für Kernphysik, J. W. Goethe-Universität, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); GSI - Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstr. 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany)

    2015-08-14

    By means of Raman spectroscopy of liquid microjets, we have investigated the crystallization process of supercooled quantum liquid mixtures composed of parahydrogen (pH{sub 2}) or orthodeuterium (oD{sub 2}) diluted with small amounts of neon. We show that the introduction of the Ne impurities affects the crystallization kinetics in terms of a significant reduction of the measured pH{sub 2} and oD{sub 2} crystal growth rates, similarly to what found in our previous work on supercooled pH{sub 2}-oD{sub 2} liquid mixtures [Kühnel et al., Phys. Rev. B 89, 180201(R) (2014)]. Our experimental results, in combination with path-integral simulations of the supercooled liquid mixtures, suggest in particular a correlation between the measured growth rates and the ratio of the effective particle sizes originating from quantum delocalization effects. We further show that the crystalline structure of the mixtures is also affected to a large extent by the presence of the Ne impurities, which likely initiate the freezing process through the formation of Ne-rich crystallites.

  4. Liquid Crystal Phases of Colloidal Platelets and their Use as Nanocomposite Templates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mourad, M.C.D.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304837563

    2009-01-01

    This thesis explores the gelation and liquid crystal phase behavior of colloidal dispersions of platelike particles as well as the use of such dispersions for the generation of nanocomposites. We report on the sol-gel, sol-glass and liquid crystal phase transitions of positively charged colloidal

  5. Plastic deformation of tubular crystals by dislocation glide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beller, Daniel A; Nelson, David R

    2016-09-01

    Tubular crystals, two-dimensional lattices wrapped into cylindrical topologies, arise in many contexts, including botany and biofilaments, and in physical systems such as carbon nanotubes. The geometrical principles of botanical phyllotaxis, describing the spiral packings on cylinders commonly found in nature, have found application in all these systems. Several recent studies have examined defects in tubular crystals associated with crystalline packings that must accommodate a fixed tube radius. Here we study the mechanics of tubular crystals with variable tube radius, with dislocations interposed between regions of different phyllotactic packings. Unbinding and separation of dislocation pairs with equal and opposite Burgers vectors allow the growth of one phyllotactic domain at the expense of another. In particular, glide separation of dislocations offers a low-energy mode for plastic deformations of solid tubes in response to external stresses, reconfiguring the lattice step by step. Through theory and simulation, we examine how the tube's radius and helicity affects, and is in turn altered by, the mechanics of dislocation glide. We also discuss how a sufficiently strong bending rigidity can alter or arrest the deformations of tubes with small radii.

  6. Magneto-optic dynamics in a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potisk, Tilen; Mertelj, Alenka; Sebastián, Nerea; Osterman, Natan; Lisjak, Darja; Brand, Helmut R.; Pleiner, Harald; Svenšek, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    We investigate dynamic magneto-optic effects in a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal experimentally and theoretically. Experimentally we measure the magnetization and the phase difference of the transmitted light when an external magnetic field is applied. As a model we study the coupled dynamics of the magnetization, M , and the director field, n , associated with the liquid crystalline orientational order. We demonstrate that the experimentally studied macroscopic dynamic behavior reveals the importance of a dynamic cross-coupling between M and n . The experimental data are used to extract the value of the dissipative cross-coupling coefficient. We also make concrete predictions about how reversible cross-coupling terms between the magnetization and the director could be detected experimentally by measurements of the transmitted light intensity as well as by analyzing the azimuthal angle of the magnetization and the director out of the plane spanned by the anchoring axis and the external magnetic field. We derive the eigenmodes of the coupled system and study their relaxation rates. We show that in the usual experimental setup used for measuring the relaxation rates of the splay-bend or twist-bend eigenmodes of a nematic liquid crystal one expects for a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal a mixture of at least two eigenmodes.

  7. NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Incommensurate Crystals, Liquid Crystals, and Quasi-Crystals

    CERN Document Server

    Clark, N

    1988-01-01

    In this NATO-sponsored Advanced Research Workshop we succeeded in bringing together approximately forty scientists working in the three main areas of structurally incommensurate materials: incommensurate crystals (primarily ferroelectric insulators), incommensurate liquid crystals, and metallic quasi-crystals. Although these three classes of materials are quite distinct, the commonality of the physics of the origin and descrip­ tion of these incommensurate structures is striking and evident in these proceedings. A measure of the success of this conference was the degree to which interaction among the three subgroups occurred; this was facili­ tated by approximately equal amounts of theory and experiment in the papers presented. We thank the University of Colorado for providing pleasant housing and conference facilities at a modest cost, and we are especially grate­ ful to Ann Underwood, who retyped all the manuscripts into camera-ready form. J. F. Scott Boulder, Colorado N. A. Clark v CONTENTS PART I: INCO...

  8. High-speed imaging polarimetry using liquid crystal modulators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ambs P.

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with dynamic polarimetric imaging techniques. The basics of modern polarimetry have been known for one and a half century, but no practical high-speed implementation providing the full polarization information is currently available. Various methods are reviewed which prove to be a trade-off between the complexity of the optical set-up and the amount of polarimetric information they provide (ie the number of components of the Stokes vector. Techniques using liquid crystal devices, incepted in the late 1990's, are emphasized. Optical set-ups we implemented are presented. We particularly focus on high-speed techniques (i.e. faster than 200 Hz using ferroelectric liquid crystal devices.

  9. Soft Elasticity in Main Chain Liquid Crystal Elastomers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anselm C. Griffin

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Main chain liquid crystal elastomers exhibit several interesting phenomena, such as three different regimes of elastic response, unconventional stress-strain relationship in one of these regimes, and the shape memory effect. Investigations are beginning to reveal relationships between their macroscopic behavior and the nature of domain structure, microscopic smectic phase structure, relaxation mechanism, and sample history. These aspects of liquid crystal elastomers are briefly reviewed followed by a summary of the results of recent elastic and high-resolution X-ray diffraction studies of the shape memory effect and the dynamics of the formation of the smectic-C chevron-like layer structure. A possible route to realizing auxetic effect at molecular level is also discussed.

  10. Dye-Induced Enhancement of Optical Nonlinearity in Liquids and Liquid Crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muenster, R.; Jarasch, M.; Zhuang, X.; Shen, Y.

    1997-01-01

    Optical nonlinearity of liquid crystals (LC) in the isotropic phase can be enhanced by 1 order of magnitude by dissolving 0.1% of anthraquinone dye in the LC. The enhancement decreases by ∼30% when the LC transforms into the nematic phase. The same guest-host effect also exists in non-LC liquids. It can be explained by a model based on the change of guest-host interaction induced by optical excitations of the dye. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  11. Creating physically-based three-dimensional microstructures: Bridging phase-field and crystal plasticity models.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, Hojun [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Owen, Steven J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Abdeljawad, Fadi F. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hanks, Byron [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Battaile, Corbett Chandler [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-09-01

    In order to better incorporate microstructures in continuum scale models, we use a novel finite element (FE) meshing technique to generate three-dimensional polycrystalline aggregates from a phase field grain growth model of grain microstructures. The proposed meshing technique creates hexahedral FE meshes that capture smooth interfaces between adjacent grains. Three dimensional realizations of grain microstructures from the phase field model are used in crystal plasticity-finite element (CP-FE) simulations of polycrystalline a -iron. We show that the interface conformal meshes significantly reduce artificial stress localizations in voxelated meshes that exhibit the so-called "wedding cake" interfaces. This framework provides a direct link between two mesoscale models - phase field and crystal plasticity - and for the first time allows mechanics simulations of polycrystalline materials using three-dimensional hexahedral finite element meshes with realistic topological features.

  12. Liquid Crystals of Lithium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate for Electric Double Layer Capacitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuzmin, Andrey Vasil’evich; Yurtov, Evgeny V.

    2016-01-01

    Ionic lyotropic liquid crystals based on lithium dodecylbenzenesulfonate were used as electrolytes for electric double layer capacitors with carbon fibrous electrodes. The capacitors were tasted by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge and discharge, and impedance spectroscopy. The highest specific capacitance was achieved for electrical double layer capacitor equipped with ionic lyotropic liquid crystal of lithium dodecylbenzenesulfonate 35 wt% in water. The specific capacitance of capacitor was calculated from galvanostatic discharge curves – 15 F/g of carbon fibrous material

  13. Smart lighting using a liquid crystal modulator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baril, Alexandre; Thibault, Simon; Galstian, Tigran

    2017-08-01

    Now that LEDs have massively invaded the illumination market, a clear trend has emerged for more efficient and targeted lighting. The project described here is at the leading edge of the trend and aims at developing an evaluation board to test smart lighting applications. This is made possible thanks to a new liquid crystal light modulator recently developed for broadening LED light beams. The modulator is controlled by electrical signals and is characterized by a linear working zone. This feature allows the implementation of a closed loop control with a sensor feedback. This project shows that the use of computer vision is a promising opportunity for cheap closed loop control. The developed evaluation board integrates the liquid crystal modulator, a webcam, a LED light source and all the required electronics to implement a closed loop control with a computer vision algorithm.

  14. From Modeling of Plasticity in Single-Crystal Superalloys to High-Resolution X-rays Three-Crystal Diffractometer Peaks Simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacques, Alain

    2016-12-01

    The dislocation-based modeling of the high-temperature creep of two-phased single-crystal superalloys requires input data beyond strain vs time curves. This may be obtained by use of in situ experiments combining high-temperature creep tests with high-resolution synchrotron three-crystal diffractometry. Such tests give access to changes in phase volume fractions and to the average components of the stress tensor in each phase as well as the plastic strain of each phase. Further progress may be obtained by a new method making intensive use of the Fast Fourier Transform, and first modeling the behavior of a representative volume of material (stress fields, plastic strain, dislocation densities…), then simulating directly the corresponding diffraction peaks, taking into account the displacement field within the material, chemical variations, and beam coherence. Initial tests indicate that the simulated peak shapes are close to the experimental ones and are quite sensitive to the details of the microstructure and to dislocation densities at interfaces and within the soft γ phase.

  15. Conductive properties of switchable photoluminescence thermosetting systems based on liquid crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tercjak, Agnieszka; Gutierrez, Junkal; Ocando, Connie; Mondragon, Iñaki

    2010-03-16

    Conductive properties of different thermosetting materials modified with nematic 4'-(hexyl)-4-biphenyl-carbonitrile (HBC) liquid crystal and rutile TiO(2) nanoparticles were successfully studied by means of tunneling atomic force miscroscopy (TUNA). Taking into account the liquid crystal state of the HBC at room temperature, depending on both the HBC content and the presence of TiO(2) nanoparticles, designed materials showed different TUNA currents passed through the sample. The addition of TiO(2) nanoparticles into the systems multiply the detected current if compared to the thermosetting systems without TiO(2) nanoparticles and simultaneously stabilized the current passed through the sample, making the process reversible since the absolute current values were almost the same applying both negative and positive voltage. Moreover, thermosetting systems modified with liquid crystals with and without TiO(2) nanoparticles are photoluminescence switchable materials as a function of temperature gradient during repeatable heating/cooling cycle. Conductive properties of switchable photoluminescence thermosetting systems based on liquid crystals can allow them to find potential application in the field of photoresponsive devices, with a high contrast ratio between transparent and opaque states.

  16. Characterising laser beams with liquid crystal displays

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dudley, Angela L

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available the intensity, phase, wavefront, Poynting vector, and orbital angular momentum density of unknown optical fields. This measurement technique makes use of a single spatial light modulator (liquid crystal display), a Fourier transforming lens and detector (CCD...

  17. Dielectric relaxation studies in 5CB nematic liquid crystal at 9 GHz ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Resonance width, shift in resonance frequency, relaxation time and activation energy of 5CB nematic liquid crystal are measured using microwave cavity technique under the influence of an external magnetic field at 9 GHz and at different temperatures. The dielectric response in liquid crystal at different temperatures and ...

  18. Nonlinear dynamical phenomena in liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, X.Y.; Sun, Z.M.

    1988-09-01

    Because of the existence of the orientational order and anisotropy in liquid crystals, strong nonlinear phenomena and singular behaviors, such as solitary wave, transient periodic structure, chaos, fractal and viscous fingering, can be excited by a very small disturbance. These phenomena and behaviors are in connection with physics, biology and mathematics. 12 refs, 6 figs

  19. Viscoelastic modes in chiral liquid crystals

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    amit@fs.rri.local.net (Amit Kumar Agarwal)

    our studies on the viscoelastic modes of some chiral liquid crystals using dynamic light scattering. We discuss viscoelastic ... In the vicinity of the direct beam for a sample aligned in the Bragg mode and. 297 ... experimental investigations on these modes. Duke and Du ..... scattering volume is not true in practice. In an actual ...

  20. The influence of temperature on the formation of liquid fuel from Polypropylene plastic wastes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martynis, M.; Mulyazmi; Praputri, E.; Witri, R.; Putri, N.

    2018-03-01

    The current trend of municipal waste management in urban areas is caused by rapid changes in social, economic, political and cultural life. As a non-biodegradable polymers that have become essential materials, plastic wastes have created a very serious environmental challenge because of the huge quantities and their disposal problems. Recycling of plastics is seen as one method for reducing environmental and resource depletion. The most attractive technique of plastics recycling is pyrolysis involving the degradation of the polymeric materials by heating in the absence of oxygen. This study investigated the characteristics of pyrolysis liquid fuel (PLF) produced from polypropylene plastic wastes with temperature variations. Pyrolisis was carried out on 200 grams of polypropylene waste plastics at the operating temperature of 200°C, 250°C, 300 °C and 350 °C for 45 minutes. The liquid products were found to have carbon chain length in the range of C8-C9, similar with gasoline. The maximum density, volume and calorific value of the oil obtained were 0.8 g/cm3, 61 ml and 1307 cal/gr, respectively.

  1. Multistability in planar liquid crystal wells

    KAUST Repository

    Luo, Chong

    2012-06-08

    A planar bistable liquid crystal device, reported in Tsakonas, is modeled within the Landau-de Gennes theory for nematic liquid crystals. This planar device consists of an array of square micrometer-sized wells. We obtain six different classes of equilibrium profiles and these profiles are classified as diagonal or rotated solutions. In the strong anchoring case, we propose a Dirichlet boundary condition that mimics the experimentally imposed tangent boundary conditions. In the weak anchoring case, we present a suitable surface energy and study the multiplicity of solutions as a function of the anchoring strength. We find that diagonal solutions exist for all values of the anchoring strength W≥0, while rotated solutions only exist for W≥W c>0, where W c is a critical anchoring strength that has been computed numerically. We propose a dynamic model for the switching mechanisms based on only dielectric effects. For sufficiently strong external electric fields, we numerically demonstrate diagonal-to-rotated and rotated-to-diagonal switching by allowing for variable anchoring strength across the domain boundary. © 2012 American Physical Society.

  2. Multistability in planar liquid crystal wells

    KAUST Repository

    Luo, Chong; Majumdar, Apala; Erban, Radek

    2012-01-01

    A planar bistable liquid crystal device, reported in Tsakonas, is modeled within the Landau-de Gennes theory for nematic liquid crystals. This planar device consists of an array of square micrometer-sized wells. We obtain six different classes of equilibrium profiles and these profiles are classified as diagonal or rotated solutions. In the strong anchoring case, we propose a Dirichlet boundary condition that mimics the experimentally imposed tangent boundary conditions. In the weak anchoring case, we present a suitable surface energy and study the multiplicity of solutions as a function of the anchoring strength. We find that diagonal solutions exist for all values of the anchoring strength W≥0, while rotated solutions only exist for W≥W c>0, where W c is a critical anchoring strength that has been computed numerically. We propose a dynamic model for the switching mechanisms based on only dielectric effects. For sufficiently strong external electric fields, we numerically demonstrate diagonal-to-rotated and rotated-to-diagonal switching by allowing for variable anchoring strength across the domain boundary. © 2012 American Physical Society.

  3. Liquid crystals with novel terminal chains as ferroelectric liquid crystal hosts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cosquer, G.Y.

    2000-02-01

    Changes to the molecular structure of liquid crystals can have a significant effect upon their mesomorphism and ferroelectric properties. Most of the research in liquid crystal for display applications concentrates on the design and synthesis of novel mesogenic cores to which straight terminal alkyl or alkoxy chains are attached. However, little is known about the effects upon the mesomorphism and ferroelectric properties of varying the terminal chains. The compounds prepared in this work have a common core - a 2,3-difluoroterphenyl unit with a nine-atom alkyl (nonyl) or alkoxy (octyloxy) chain at the 4-position, but with an unusual chain at the 4''-position. In some cases the terminal chain contains hetero atoms such as silicon, oxygen, chlorine and bromine or has a bulky end group. In total 46 final materials were synthesised in an attempt to understand the effect of an unusual terminal chains on mesomorphism and for some of these compounds the effect upon the switching times when added to a standard ferroelectric mixture were investigated. It was found that most compounds containing a bulky end group only displayed a smectic C phase, compounds with a halogen substituent as an end unit displayed a smectic A phase and that increasing the chain flexibility by introducing an oxygen atom in the chain reduces the melting and clearing points. The electro-optical measurements carried out on ferroelectric mixtures containing a bulky end group compound showed that shorter switching times were produced than for the ferroelectric mixture containing a straight chain compound. It is suggested that a bulky end group diminishes te extent of interlayer mixing in the chiral smectic C phase and therefore the molecules move more easily with ferroelectric switching. (author)

  4. Directional Scattering of Semiconductor Nanoparticles Embedded in a Liquid Crystal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Braulio García-Cámara

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Light scattering by semiconductor nanoparticles has been shown to be more complex than was believed until now. Both electric and magnetic responses emerge in the visible range. In addition, directional effects on light scattering of these nanoparticles were recently obtained. In particular, zero backward and minimum-forward scattering are observed. These phenomena are very interesting for several applications such as, for instance, optical switches or modulators. The strong dependence of these phenomena on the properties of both the particle and the surrounding medium can be used to tune them. The electrical control on the optical properties of liquid crystals could be used to control the directional effects of embedded semiconductor nanoparticles. In this work, we theoretically analyze the effects on the directional distribution of light scattering by these particles when the refractive index of a surrounded liquid crystal changes from the ordinary to the extraordinary configuration. Several semiconductor materials and liquid crystals are studied in order to optimize the contrast between the two states.

  5. Liquid crystal templating as an approach to spatially and temporally organise soft matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Asdonk, Pim; Kouwer, Paul H J

    2017-10-02

    Chemistry quickly moves from a molecular science to a systems science. This requires spatial and temporal control over the organisation of molecules and molecular assemblies. Whilst Nature almost by default (transiently) organises her components at multiple different length scales, scientists struggle to realise even relatively straightforward patterns. In the past decades, supramolecular chemistry has taught us the rules to precisely engineer molecular assembly at the nanometre scale. At higher length scales, however, we are bound to top-down nanotechnology techniques to realise order. For soft, biological matter, many of these top-down techniques come with serious limitations since the molecules generally show low susceptibilities to the applied stimuli. A new method is based on liquid crystal templating. In this hierarchical approach, a liquid crystalline host serves as the scaffold to order polymers or assemblies. Being a liquid crystal, the host material can be ordered at many different length scales and on top of that, is highly susceptible to many external stimuli, which can even be used to manipulate the liquid crystal organisation in time. As a result, we anticipate large control over the organisation of the materials inside the liquid crystalline host. Recently, liquid crystal templating was also realised in water. This suddenly makes this tool highly applicable to start organising more delicate biological materials or even small organisms. We review the scope and limitations of liquid crystal templating and look out to where the technique may lead us.

  6. Modeling texture transitions in cholesteric liquid crystal droplets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selinger, Robin; Gimenez-Pinto, Vianney; Lu, Shin-Ying; Selinger, Jonathan; Konya, Andrew

    2012-02-01

    Cholesteric liquid crystals can be switched reversibly between planar and focal-conic textures, a property enabling their application in bistable displays, liquid crystal writing tablets, e-books, and color switching ``e-skins.'' To explore voltage-pulse induced switching in cholesteric droplets, we perform simulation studies of director dynamics in three dimensions. Electrostatics calculations are solved at each time step using an iterative relaxation method. We demonstrate that as expected, a low amplitude pulse drives the transition from planar to focal conic, while a high amplitude pulse drives the transition from focal conic back to the planar state. We use the model to explore the effects of droplet shape, aspect ratio, and anchoring conditions, with the goal of minimizing both response time and energy consumption.

  7. Electrothermally Driven Fluorescence Switching by Liquid Crystal Elastomers Based On Dimensional Photonic Crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Changxu; Jiang, Yin; Tao, Cheng-An; Yin, Xianpeng; Lan, Yue; Wang, Chen; Wang, Shiqiang; Liu, Xiangyang; Li, Guangtao

    2017-04-05

    In this article, the fabrication of an active organic-inorganic one-dimensional photonic crystal structure to offer electrothermal fluorescence switching is described. The film is obtained by spin-coating of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) and TiO 2 nanoparticles alternatively. By utilizing the property of LCEs that can change their size and shape reversibly under external thermal stimulations, the λ max of the photonic band gap of these films is tuned by voltage through electrothermal conversion. The shifted photonic band gap further changes the matching degree between the photonic band gap of the film and the emission spectrum of organic dye mounting on the film. With rhodamine B as an example, the enhancement factor of its fluorescence emission is controlled by varying the matching degree. Thus, the fluorescence intensity is actively switched by voltage applied on the system, in a fast, adjustable, and reversible manner. The control chain of using the electrothermal stimulus to adjust fluorescence intensity via controlling the photonic band gap is proved by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and UV-vis reflectance. This mechanism also corresponded to the results from the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. The comprehensive usage of photonic crystals and liquid crystal elastomers opened a new possibility for active optical devices.

  8. Thermal diode made by nematic liquid crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Melo, Djair, E-mail: djfmelo@gmail.com [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Av. Lourival Melo Mota, s/n, 57072-900 Maceió, AL (Brazil); Fernandes, Ivna [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Av. Lourival Melo Mota, s/n, 57072-900 Maceió, AL (Brazil); Moraes, Fernando [Departamento de Física, CCEN, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Caixa Postal 5008, 58051-900, João Pessoa, PB (Brazil); Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, 52171-900 Recife, PE (Brazil); Fumeron, Sébastien [Institut Jean Lamour, Université de Lorraine, BP 239, Boulevard des Aiguillettes, 54506 Vandoeuvre les Nancy (France); Pereira, Erms [Escola Politécnica de Pernambuco, Universidade de Pernambuco, Rua Benfíca, 455, Madalena, 50720-001 Recife, PE (Brazil)

    2016-09-07

    This work investigates how a thermal diode can be designed from a nematic liquid crystal confined inside a cylindrical capillary. In the case of homeotropic anchoring, a defect structure called escaped radial disclination arises. The asymmetry of such structure causes thermal rectification rates up to 3.5% at room temperature, comparable to thermal diodes made from carbon nanotubes. Sensitivity of the system with respect to the heat power supply, the geometry of the capillary tube and the molecular anchoring angle is also discussed. - Highlights: • An escaped radial disclination as a thermal diode made by a nematic liquid crystal. • Rectifying effects comparable to those caused by carbon and boron nitride nanotubes. • Thermal rectification increasing with radius and decreasing with height of the tube. • Asymmetric BCs cause rectification from the spatial asymmetry produced by the escape. • Symmetric BCs provide rectifications smaller than those yields by asymmetric BCs.

  9. Crystal plasticity assisted prediction on the yield locus evolution and forming limit curves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lian, Junhe; Liu, Wenqi; Shen, Fuhui; Münstermann, Sebastian

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study is to predict the plastic anisotropy evolution and its associated forming limit curves of bcc steels purely based on their microstructural features by establishing an integrated multiscale modelling approach. Crystal plasticity models are employed to describe the micro deformation mechanism and correlate the microstructure with mechanical behaviour on micro and mesoscale. Virtual laboratory is performed considering the statistical information of the microstructure, which serves as the input for the phenomenological plasticity model on the macroscale. For both scales, the microstructure evolution induced evolving features, such as the anisotropic hardening, r-value and yield locus evolution are seamlessly integrated. The predicted plasticity behaviour by the numerical simulations are compared with experiments. These evolutionary features of the material deformation behaviour are eventually considered for the prediction of formability.

  10. Photosensitive bent-core liquid crystals based on methyl substituted 3-hydroxybenzoic acid.

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kohout, M.; Alaasar, M.; Poryvai, A.; Novotná, Vladimíra; Poppe, S.; Tschierske, C.; Svoboda, J.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 7, č. 57 (2017), s. 35805-35813 ISSN 2046-2069 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-12150S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : liquid crystals * photosensitivity * bent-core liquid crystals * 3-hydroxybenzoic acid Subject RIV: JJ - Other Materials OBOR OECD: Nano-materials (production and properties) Impact factor: 3.108, year: 2016

  11. Compact electrically controlled broadband liquid crystal photonic bandgap fiber polarizer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wei, Lei; Alkeskjold, Thomas Tanggaard; Bjarklev, Anders Overgaard

    2009-01-01

    An electrically controlled liquid crystal photonic-bandgap fiber polarizer is experimentally demonstrated. A maximum 21.3dB electrically tunable polarization extinction ratio is achieved with 45° rotatable transmission axis as well as switched on and off in 1300nm–1600nm.......An electrically controlled liquid crystal photonic-bandgap fiber polarizer is experimentally demonstrated. A maximum 21.3dB electrically tunable polarization extinction ratio is achieved with 45° rotatable transmission axis as well as switched on and off in 1300nm–1600nm....

  12. Shear-induced anisotropic plastic flow from body-centred-cubic tantalum before melting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Christine J.; Söderlind, Per; Glosli, James N.; Klepeis, John E.

    2009-03-01

    There are many structural and optical similarities between a liquid and a plastic flow. Thus, it is non-trivial to distinguish between them at high pressures and temperatures, and a detailed description of the transformation between these phenomena is crucial to our understanding of the melting of metals at high pressures. Here we report a shear-induced, partially disordered viscous plastic flow from body-centred-cubic tantalum under heating before it melts into a liquid. This thermally activated structural transformation produces a unique, one-dimensional structure analogous to a liquid crystal with the rheological characteristics of Bingham plastics. This mechanism is not specific to Ta and is expected to hold more generally for other metals. Remarkably, this transition is fully consistent with the previously reported anomalously low-temperature melting curve and thus offers a plausible resolution to a long-standing controversy about melting of metals under high pressures.

  13. Thermal conductivity of Glycerol's liquid, glass, and crystal states, glass-liquid-glass transition, and crystallization at high pressures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersson, Ove; Johari, G P

    2016-02-14

    To investigate the effects of local density fluctuations on phonon propagation in a hydrogen bonded structure, we studied the thermal conductivity κ of the crystal, liquid, and glassy states of pure glycerol as a function of the temperature, T, and the pressure, p. We find that the following: (i) κcrystal is 3.6-times the κliquid value at 140 K at 0.1 MPa and 2.2-times at 290 K, and it varies with T according to 138 × T(-0.95); (ii) the ratio κliquid (p)/κliquid (0.1 MPa) is 1.45 GPa(-1) at 280 K, which, unexpectedly, is about the same as κcrystal (p)/κcrystal (0.1 MPa) of 1.42 GPa(-1) at 298 K; (iii) κglass is relatively insensitive to T but sensitive to the applied p (1.38 GPa(-1) at 150 K); (iv) κglass-T plots show an enhanced, pressure-dependent peak-like feature, which is due to the glass to liquid transition on heating; (v) continuous heating cold-crystallizes ultraviscous glycerol under pressure, at a higher T when p is high; and (vi) glycerol formed by cooling at a high p and then measured at a low p has a significantly higher κ than the glass formed by cooling at a low p. On heating at a fixed low p, its κ decreases before its glass-liquid transition range at that p is reached. We attribute this effect to thermally assisted loss of the configurational and vibrational instabilities of a glass formed at high p and recovered at low p, which is different from the usual glass-aging effect. While the heat capacity, entropy, and volume of glycerol crystal are less than those for its glass and liquid, κcrystal of glycerol, like its elastic modulus and refractive index, is higher. We discuss these findings in terms of the role of fluctuations in local density and structure, and the relations between κ and the thermodynamic quantities.

  14. A flexible optically re-writable color liquid crystal display

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yihong; Sun, Jiatong; Liu, Yang; Shang, Jianhua; Liu, Hao; Liu, Huashan; Gong, Xiaohui; Chigrinov, Vladimir; Kowk, Hoi Sing

    2018-03-01

    It is very difficult to make a liquid crystal display (LCD) that is flexible. However, for an optically re-writable LCD (ORWLCD), only the spacers and the substrates need to be flexible because the driving unit and the display unit are separate and there are no electronics in the display part of ORWLCD. In this paper, three flexible-spacer methods are proposed to achieve this goal. A cholesteric liquid crystal colored mirror with a polarizer behind it is used as the colored reflective backboard of an ORWLCD. Polyethersulfone substrates and flexible spacers are used to make the optically re-writable cell insensitive to mechanical force.

  15. Energetic materials: crystallization, characterization and insensitive plastic bonded explosives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heijden, Antoine E.D.M. van der; Creyghton, Yves L.M.; Marino, Emanuela; Bouma, Richard H.B.; Scholtes, Gert J.H.G.; Duvalois, Willem [TNO Defence, Security and Safety, P. O. Box 45, 2280 AA Rijswijk (Netherlands); Roelands, Marc C.P.M. [TNO Science and Industry, P. O. Box 342, 7300 AH Apeldoorn (Netherlands)

    2008-02-15

    The product quality of energetic materials is predominantly determined by the crystallization process applied to produce these materials. It has been demonstrated in the past that the higher the product quality of the solid energetic ingredients, the less sensitive a plastic bonded explosive containing these energetic materials becomes. The application of submicron or nanometric energetic materials is generally considered to further decrease the sensitiveness of explosives. In order to assess the product quality of energetic materials, a range of analytical techniques is available. Recent attempts within the Reduced-sensitivity RDX Round Robin (R4) have provided the EM community a better insight into these analytical techniques and in some cases a correlation between product quality and shock initiation of plastic bonded explosives containing (RS-)RDX was identified, which would provide a possibility to discriminate between conventional and reduced sensitivity grades. (Abstract Copyright [2008], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  16. NMR and molecular dynamics of small solutes in liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luyten, P.R.

    1984-01-01

    NMR relaxation measurements, using a wide variety of modern pulse techniques, can yield valuable information about molecular motions. In this thesis the applicability of theories developed to describe spin relaxation phenomena in partially ordered media is studied for small solutes in liquid crystals. 1 H, 2 H, 13 C and 14 N relaxation measurements are interpreted by means of a model, in which fast anisotropic re-orientational motion in an orienting potential combined with contributions from cooperative fluctuations in the surrounding liquid crystal molecules, induce the observed frequency dependent relaxation behavior. (orig.)

  17. Microchannel-flowed-plasma modification of octadecyltrichlorosilane self-assembled-monolayers for liquid crystal alignment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, W.; Chiang, C.-Y.; Underwood, I.

    2013-01-01

    We report that a chemical patterning technique based on local plasma modification of self-assembled monolayers has been utilized to fabricate surfaces for domain liquid crystal alignment. Highly hydrophobic octadecyltrichlorosilane monolayers deposited on glass substrates coated with Indium-Tin-Oxide were brought into contact with elastomeric stamps comprising trenches on a micro scale, and then exposed to an oxygen plasma. In the regions exposed to the plasma the monolayer was etched away leaving a patterned surface that exhibited surface energy differences between surface domains. The surfaces that bear the micropatterns have been shown to be capable of producing patterned alignment of nematic liquid crystal. - Highlights: • Chemical surface-patterning is used to fabricate liquid crystal alignment surface. • Highly hydrophobic octadecyltrichlorosilane monolayer is deposited on substrate. • O 2 plasma flow is used to etch the monolayer to form patterned surface. • The patterned surface exhibits surface energy differences between surface domains. • The surface borne the micropatterns is capable of domain liquid crystal alignment

  18. Controlling the volatility of the written optical state in electrochromic DNA liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Kai; Varghese, Justin; Gerasimov, Jennifer Y.; Polyakov, Alexey O.; Shuai, Min; Su, Juanjuan; Chen, Dong; Zajaczkowski, Wojciech; Marcozzi, Alessio; Pisula, Wojciech; Noheda, Beatriz; Palstra, Thomas T. M.; Clark, Noel A.; Herrmann, Andreas

    2016-05-01

    Liquid crystals are widely used in displays for portable electronic information display. To broaden their scope for other applications like smart windows and tags, new material properties such as polarizer-free operation and tunable memory of a written state become important. Here, we describe an anhydrous nanoDNA-surfactant thermotropic liquid crystal system, which exhibits distinctive electrically controlled optical absorption, and temperature-dependent memory. In the liquid crystal isotropic phase, electric field-induced colouration and bleaching have a switching time of seconds. Upon transition to the smectic liquid crystal phase, optical memory of the written state is observed for many hours without applied voltage. The reorientation of the DNA-surfactant lamellar layers plays an important role in preventing colour decay. Thereby, the volatility of optoelectronic state can be controlled simply by changing the phase of the material. This research may pave the way for developing a new generation of DNA-based, phase-modulated, photoelectronic devices.

  19. Characteristics of bulk liquid undercooling and crystallization ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Characteristics of bulk liquid undercooling and crystallization behaviors ... cooling rate is fixed, the change of undercooling depends on the melt processing tem- ... solidification and a deep knowledge of undercooling of ... evolution, to obtain the information for the nucleation and ..... When cooling rate is fixed, the change.

  20. Nuclear magnetic resonance of liquid crystals

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Dong, Ronald Y

    1997-01-01

    ... operator in the small-step rotational diffusion model, while appendix D contains a list of liquid crystal abbreviations used in the book. A portion of this revision is carried out while the author is on leave at the University of Pisa. The author wishes to thank Professor C.A. Veracini for his kind hospitality and many authors for their preprints....

  1. Color Gamut of a Nematic Liquid Crystal Display

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimomura, Teruo; Mada, Hitoshi; Kobayashi, Shunsuke

    1980-05-01

    The theoretical color gamut of a nematic liquid crystal display is described. The color gamut of a tunable birefringence mode and a guest host mode are revealed with the CIE chromaticity diagram and color solid. In order to account for the quantitative color gamut, color matching between the given chromaticity coordinates and those calculated is investigated. Color matching is performed by a combination of three liquid crystal subcells (A, B, C), where each subcell receives the voltage VA, VB, VC or contains the dye amount a, b, c. Calculation of the value of voltage or dye amount was executed by the matrix representation method. The calculated data are in good agreement with the given data within 0.50 CIE-UNIT color difference in the 1964 CIE (U*, V*, W*) color scale.

  2. Study and understanding of n/γ discrimination processes in organic plastic scintillators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamel, Matthieu; Blanc, Pauline; Rocha, Licinio; Normand, Stephane; Pansu, Robert

    2013-01-01

    For 50 years, it was assumed that unlike liquid scintillators or organic crystals, plastic scintillators were not able to discriminate fast neutrons from gamma. In this work, we will demonstrate that triplet-triplet annihilations (which are responsible of n/γ discrimination) can occur even in plastic scintillators, following certain conditions. Thus, the presentation will deal with the chemical preparation, the characterization and the comparison of n/γ pulse shape discrimination of various plastic scintillators. To this aim, scale-up of the process allowed us to prepare a O 100 mm x*110 mm thick. (authors)

  3. A Polarization Maintaining Filter based on a Liquid-Crystal-Photonic-Bandgap-Fiber

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scolari, Lara; Olausson, Christina Bjarnal Thulin; Turchinovich, Dmitry

    2008-01-01

    A polarization maintaining filter based on a liquid-crystal-photonic-bandgap-fiber is demonstrated. Its polarization extinction ratio is 14 dB at 1550 nm. Its tunability is 150 nm.......A polarization maintaining filter based on a liquid-crystal-photonic-bandgap-fiber is demonstrated. Its polarization extinction ratio is 14 dB at 1550 nm. Its tunability is 150 nm....

  4. Relation between anchorings of liquid crystals and conformation changes in aligning agents by the Langmuir-Blodgett film technique investigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Y.; Lu, Z.; Wei, Y.

    1995-01-01

    The anchoring direction of liquid crystals on a solid substrate surface depends upon many parameters characterizing the liquid-crystal--substrate interface, a variation of which may change this anchoring direction leading to the so-called anchoring transition. Here, based on the Langmuir-Blodgett film technique, we present two model systems to study the relation between anchoring directions and the conformation changes in aligning agents. A double-armed crown ether liquid crystal and a side chain polymer liquid crystal at an air-water interface both show phase transitions, accompanied by conformation changes. However, when the monolayers in different phases were transferred onto solid substrates to orient liquid crystals, we found that for the crown ether material the conformation change can alter the anchoring of liquid crystals between homeotropic and homogeneous alignments, while for the polymer liquid crystal, despite the conformation changes, the liquid crystals can only be aligned homeotropically. The involved mechanisms were briefly discussed in terms of the Landau-type phenomenological theory

  5. The ion capturing effect of 5° SiOx alignment films in liquid crystal devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yi; Bos, Philip J.; Bhowmik, Achintya

    2010-09-01

    We show that SiOx, deposited at 5° to the interior surface of a liquid crystal cell allows for a surprisingly substantial reduction in the ion concentration of liquid crystal devices. We have investigated this effect and found that this type of film, due to its surface morphology, captures ions from the liquid crystal material. Ion adsorption on 5° SiOx film obeys the Langmuir isotherm. Experimental results shown allow estimation of the ion capturing capacity of these films to be more than an order of 10 000/μm2. These types of materials are useful for new types of very low power liquid crystal devices such as e-books.

  6. Heat and electrical conductivity of thermotropic liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saidov, N.S.; Majidov, H.; Saburov, B.S.; Safarov, M.M.

    1989-01-01

    A results of thermal conduction and electrical conduction of chemo tropic liquid crystals are brought in this article. An installation dependence formula of thermal conduction investigating things from the electrical conduction and temperatures is constructed

  7. Effects of microscopic boundary conditions on plastic deformations of small-sized single crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuroda, Mitsutoshi; Tvergaard, Viggo

    2009-01-01

    The finite deformation version of the higher-order gradient crystal plasticity model proposed by the authors is applied to solve plane strain boundary value problems, in order to obtain an understanding of the effect of the higher-order boundary conditions. Numerical solutions are carried out...

  8. Electrically tuned photoluminescence in large pitch cholesteric liquid crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Middha, Manju; Kumar, Rishi; Raina, K. K.

    2014-01-01

    Cholesteric liquid crystals are known as 1-D photonic band gap materials due to their periodic helical supramolecular structure and larger birefringence. Depending upon the helical twisted pitch length, they give the characteristic contrast due to selective Bragg reflections when viewed through the polarizing optical microscope and hence affect the electro-optic properties. So the optimization of chiral dopant concentration in nematic liquid crystal leads to control the transmission of polarized light through the microscope. Hence transmission based polarizing optical microscope is used for the characterization of helical pitch length in the optical texture. The unwinding of helical pitch was observed with the application of electric field which affects the intensity of photoluminescence

  9. Proton irradiation of liquid crystal based adaptive optical devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buis, E.J.; Berkhout, G.C.G.; Love, G.D.; Kirby, A.K.; Taylor, J.M.; Hannemann, S.; Collon, M.J.

    2012-01-01

    To assess its radiation hardness, a liquid crystal based adaptive optical element has been irradiated using a 60 MeV proton beam. The device with the functionality of an optical beam steerer was characterised before, during and after the irradiation. A systematic set of measurements on the transmission and beam deflection angles was carried out. The measurements showed that the transmission decreased only marginally and that its optical performance degraded only after a very high proton fluence (10 10 p/cm 2 ). The device showed complete annealing in the functionality as a beam steerer, which leads to the conclusion that the liquid crystal technology for optical devices is not vulnerable to proton irradiation as expected in space.

  10. Proton irradiation of liquid crystal based adaptive optical devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buis, E.J., E-mail: ernst-jan.buis@tno.nl [cosine Science and Computing BV, Niels Bohrweg 11, 2333 CA Leiden (Netherlands); Berkhout, G.C.G. [cosine Science and Computing BV, Niels Bohrweg 11, 2333 CA Leiden (Netherlands); Huygens Laboratory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Love, G.D.; Kirby, A.K.; Taylor, J.M. [Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Hannemann, S.; Collon, M.J. [cosine Research BV, Niels Bohrweg 11, 2333 CA Leiden (Netherlands)

    2012-01-01

    To assess its radiation hardness, a liquid crystal based adaptive optical element has been irradiated using a 60 MeV proton beam. The device with the functionality of an optical beam steerer was characterised before, during and after the irradiation. A systematic set of measurements on the transmission and beam deflection angles was carried out. The measurements showed that the transmission decreased only marginally and that its optical performance degraded only after a very high proton fluence (10{sup 10}p/cm{sup 2}). The device showed complete annealing in the functionality as a beam steerer, which leads to the conclusion that the liquid crystal technology for optical devices is not vulnerable to proton irradiation as expected in space.

  11. A liquid-crystal-on-silicon color sequential display using frame buffer pixel circuits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sangrok

    Next generation liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) high definition (HD) televisions and image projection displays will need to be low-cost and high quality to compete with existing systems based on digital micromirror devices (DMDs), plasma displays, and direct view liquid crystal displays. In this thesis, a novel frame buffer pixel architecture that buffers data for the next image frame while displaying the current frame, offers such a competitive solution is presented. The primary goal of the thesis is to demonstrate the LCOS microdisplay architecture for high quality image projection displays and at potentially low cost. The thesis covers four main research areas: new frame buffer pixel circuits to improve the LCOS performance, backplane architecture design and testing, liquid crystal modes for the LCOS microdisplay, and system integration and demonstration. The design requirements for the LCOS backplane with a 64 x 32 pixel array are addressed and measured electrical characteristics matches to computer simulation results. Various liquid crystal (LC) modes applicable for LCOS microdisplays and their physical properties are discussed. One- and two-dimensional director simulations are performed for the selected LC modes. Test liquid crystal cells with the selected LC modes are made and their electro-optic effects are characterized. The 64 x 32 LCOS microdisplays fabricated with the best LC mode are optically tested with interface circuitry. The characteristics of the LCOS microdisplays are summarized with the successful demonstration.

  12. Liquid gallium cooling of silicon crystals in high intensity photon beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smither, R.K.; Forster, G.A.; Bilderback, D.H.; Bedzyk, M.; Finkelstein, K.; Henderson, C.; White, J.; Berman, L.E.; Stefan, P.; Oversluizen, T.

    1989-01-01

    The high-brilliance, insertion-device-based photon beams of the next generation of synchrotron sources (Argonne's APS and Grenoble's ESRF) will deliver large thermal loads (1--10 kW) to the first optical elements. Considering the problems that present synchrotron users are experiencing with beams from recently installed insertion devices, new and improved methods of cooling these first optical elements, particularly when they are diffraction crystals, are clearly needed. A series of finite element calculations were performed to test the efficiency of new cooling geometries and various cooling fluids. The best results were obtained with liquid Ga metal flowing in channels just below the surface of the crystal. Ga was selected because of its good thermal conductivity and thermal capacity, low melting point, high boiling point, low kinetic viscosity, and very low vapor pressure. Its very low vapor pressure, even at elevated temperatures, makes it especially attractive in UHV conditions. A series of experiments were conducted at CHESS in February of 1988 that compared liquid gallium-cooled silicon diffraction crystals with water-cooled crystals. A six-pole wiggler beam was used to perform these tests on three different Si crystals, two with new cooling geometries and the one presently in use. A special high-pressure electromagnetic induction pump, recently developed at Argonne, was used to circulate the liquid gallium through the silicon crystals. In all experiments, the specially cooled crystal was used as the first crystal in a two crystal monochromator. An infrared camera was used to monitor the thermal profiles and correlated them with rocking curve measurements. A second set of cooling experiments were conducted in June of 1988 that used the intense, highly collimated beam from the newly installed ANL/CHESS undulator

  13. On the formulations of higher-order strain gradient crystal plasticity models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuroda, M.; Tvergaard, Viggo

    2008-01-01

    Recently, several higher-order extensions to the crystal plasticity theory have been proposed to incorporate effects of material length scales that were missing links in the conventional continuum mechanics. The extended theories are classified into work-conjugate and non-work-conjugate types. A ...... deformation. In this paper, the discussion is extended to a more general situation, i.e. the context of multiple and three-dimensional slip deformations....

  14. Liquid fuel obtain from polypropylene (PP-5) and high density polyethylene (HDPE-2) waste plastics mixture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarker, Moinuddin; Rashid, Mohammad Mamunor; Rahman, Md. Sadikur; Molla, Mohammed [Department of Research and Development, Natural State Research Inc, Stamford, (United States)

    2011-07-01

    Plastics are made by combination of small based molecules to form monomers. The monomers are then joined together by chemical polymerization mechanism to form polymers also known as plastics. These plastics contain various elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine and sul fur. The use of plastics is vastly expanded and it is being used in every sector of the world. However, using plastics does have a negative aspect, after use they end up in our landfill as waste causing numerous health and environmental problems. Landfill waste plastics release harmful gases due to the presence of carbon, chlorine and sul fur in them into the atmosphere causing climates to change drastically, equivalent to the effects of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. To overcome these environmental issues, scientists have already developed many methods to converting these waste plastics into energy and fuel . We developed one new methods thermal cracking conversion to convert these waste plastics into usable liquid fuel . Thermal cracking conversion is a process to shorten the long chain hydrocarbons to produce liquid fuel in the absence of a catalyst. The thermal degradation process of the waste plastics long chain hydrocarbon to makes short chain hydrocarbon fuel. The fuel produced has been analyzed and tested according to standard methods. Key words: fuel , hydrocarbon, waste plastic, thermal degradation, conversion, GC/MS.

  15. Liquid fuel obtain from polypropylene (PP-5) and high density polyethylene (HDPE-2) waste plastics mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarker, Moinuddin; Rashid, Mohammad Mamunor; Rahman, Md. Sadikur; Molla, Mohammed

    2011-01-01

    Plastics are made by combination of small based molecules to form monomers. The monomers are then joined together by chemical polymerization mechanism to form polymers also known as plastics. These plastics contain various elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine and sul fur. The use of plastics is vastly expanded and it is being used in every sector of the world. However, using plastics does have a negative aspect, after use they end up in our landfill as waste causing numerous health and environmental problems. Landfill waste plastics release harmful gases due to the presence of carbon, chlorine and sul fur in them into the atmosphere causing climates to change drastically, equivalent to the effects of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. To overcome these environmental issues, scientists have already developed many methods to converting these waste plastics into energy and fuel . We developed one new methods thermal cracking conversion to convert these waste plastics into usable liquid fuel . Thermal cracking conversion is a process to shorten the long chain hydrocarbons to produce liquid fuel in the absence of a catalyst. The thermal degradation process of the waste plastics long chain hydrocarbon to makes short chain hydrocarbon fuel. The fuel produced has been analyzed and tested according to standard methods. Key words: fuel , hydrocarbon, waste plastic, thermal degradation, conversion, GC/MS

  16. Single-Photon Source for Quantum Information Based on Single Dye Molecule Fluorescence in Liquid Crystal Host

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lukishova, S.G.; Knox, R.P.; Freivald, P.; McNamara, A.; Boyd, R.W.; Stroud, Jr. C.R.; Schmid, A.W.; Marshall, K.L.

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes a new application for liquid crystals: quantum information technology. A deterministically polarized single-photon source that efficiently produces photons exhibiting antibunching is a pivotal hardware element in absolutely secure quantum communication. Planar-aligned nematic liquid crystal hosts deterministically align the single dye molecules which produce deterministically polarized single (antibunched) photons. In addition, 1-D photonic bandgap cholesteric liquid crystals will increase single-photon source efficiency. The experiments and challenges in the observation of deterministically polarized fluorescence from single dye molecules in planar-aligned glassy nematic-liquid-crystal oligomer as well as photon antibunching in glassy cholesteric oligomer are described for the first time

  17. The Monte Carlo simulations of liquid crystal cell with bend distortions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Xuan; Zhang Zhidong

    2010-01-01

    Strong anchoring nematic liquid crystal cell with bend distortions is studied, This liquid crystal cell has fast response in application prospects. The continuum theory has given that the surface elastic energy k 13 term causes surface discontinuities of the liquid crystal director. Study based on molecular theory, the pair potential parameters link directly to the surface elastic energy coefficient k 13 . The effect of finite temperature is studied by Monte Carlo simulation. The second rank ordering tensor is calculated, the largest eigenvalue gives the order parameter, and its corresponding eigenvector identifies the director in the continuum theory. It is shown that it doesn't present the surface discontinuities based on the molecular theory and the k 13 term in pair potential will increase the fluctuation in the middle of the cell. By inference, the boundary discontinuity caused by k 13 item in continuum theory is resulted from the neglecting of the higher items than the second rank of the elastic energy. (authors)

  18. Dual gauge field theory of quantum liquid crystals in three dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beekman, Aron J.; Nissinen, Jaakko; Wu, Kai; Zaanen, Jan

    2017-01-01

    The dislocation-mediated quantum melting of solids into quantum liquid crystals is extended from two to three spatial dimensions, using a generalization of boson-vortex or Abelian-Higgs duality. Dislocations are now Burgers-vector-valued strings that trace out worldsheets in space-time while the phonons of the solid dualize into two-form (Kalb-Ramond) gauge fields. We propose an effective dual Higgs potential that allows for restoring translational symmetry in either one, two, or three directions, leading to the quantum analogues of columnar, smectic, or nematic liquid crystals. In these phases, transverse phonons turn into gapped, propagating modes, while compressional stress remains massless. Rotational Goldstone modes emerge whenever translational symmetry is restored. Lastly, we also consider the effective electromagnetic response of electrically charged quantum liquid crystals, and find among other things that as a hard principle only two out of the possible three rotational Goldstone modes are observable using propagating electromagnetic fields.

  19. Dual gauge field theory of quantum liquid crystals in three dimensions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beekman, Aron J.; Nissinen, Jaakko; Wu, Kai; Zaanen, Jan

    2017-10-01

    The dislocation-mediated quantum melting of solids into quantum liquid crystals is extended from two to three spatial dimensions, using a generalization of boson-vortex or Abelian-Higgs duality. Dislocations are now Burgers-vector-valued strings that trace out worldsheets in space-time while the phonons of the solid dualize into two-form (Kalb-Ramond) gauge fields. We propose an effective dual Higgs potential that allows for restoring translational symmetry in either one, two, or three directions, leading to the quantum analogues of columnar, smectic, or nematic liquid crystals. In these phases, transverse phonons turn into gapped, propagating modes, while compressional stress remains massless. Rotational Goldstone modes emerge whenever translational symmetry is restored. We also consider the effective electromagnetic response of electrically charged quantum liquid crystals, and find among other things that as a hard principle only two out of the possible three rotational Goldstone modes are observable using propagating electromagnetic fields.

  20. Ultraweak azimuthal anchoring of a nematic liquid crystal on a planar orienting photopolymer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nespoulous, Mathieu; Blanc, Christophe; Nobili, Maurizio

    2007-01-01

    The search of weak anchoring is an important issue for a whole class of liquid crystal displays. In this paper we present an orienting layer showing unreached weak planar azimuthal anchoring for 4-n-pentyl-4 ' -cyanobiphenyl nematic liquid crystal (5CB). Azimuthal extrapolation lengths as large as 80 μm are easily obtained. Our layers are made with the commercial photocurable polymer Norland optical adhesive 60. The anisotropy of the film is induced by the adsorption of oriented liquid crystal molecules under a 2 T magnetic field applied parallel to the surfaces. We use the width of surface π-walls and a high-field electro-optical method to measure, respectively, the azimuthal and the zenithal anchorings. The azimuthal anchoring is extremely sensitive to the ultraviolet (UV) dose and it also depends on the magnetic field application duration. On the opposite, the zenithal anchoring is only slightly sensitive to the preparation parameters. All these results are discussed in terms of the adsorption/desorption mechanisms of the liquid crystal molecules on the polymer layer and of the flexibility of the polymer network

  1. Influence of RF power on performance of sputtered a-IGZO based liquid crystal cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, G.M., E-mail: wu@mail.cgu.edu.tw; Sahoo, A.K.; Liu, C.Y.

    2015-12-01

    The influence of radio-frequency (RF) power on sputter-deposited amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) films and the corresponding liquid crystal cell performances have been investigated. The inorganic films were used as alternative alignment layers for liquid crystal display cells. The columnar growth of film was achieved by non-contact, fixed oblique deposition using RF sputtering at the power of 50 W, 60 W and 70 W. The experiments have been carried out to compare the physical characteristics with those of the traditional polyimide (PI) alignment layers used for liquid crystal cells. The cell performances in voltage-transmittance, contrast ratio, and response time were all evaluated. The liquid crystal pretilt angle has been determined to be about 13° using 70 W power deposited a-IGZO film. It was 6° for the 60 W deposited film and only 1.5° for the PI alignment film. The experimental cell rise time and fall time was 1.25 ms and 2.96 ms, respectively. Thus, a very quick response time of 4.21 ms has been achieved. It was about 6.62 ms for the PI alignment control cell. - Highlights: • Radio-frequency power of indium gallium zinc oxide film deposition was studied. • The oblique deposition technique was used to prepare the alignment layers. • The liquid crystal pretilt angle was about 13° using 70 W. • The corresponding liquid crystal cells exhibited fast response time at 4.21 ms. • The cells showed low threshold voltage of 1.78 V and excellent contrast ratio.

  2. Regularity of solutions to the liquid crystals systems in R2 and R3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai, Mimi; Qing, Jie; Schonbek, Maria

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we establish regularity and uniqueness for solutions to density dependent nematic liquid crystals systems. The results presented extend the regularity and uniqueness for constant density liquid crystals systems, obtained by Lin and Liu (1995 Commun. Pure Appl. Math. XLVIII 501–37)

  3. Measuring of nonlinearity of dye doped liquid crystals using of self phase modulation effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abedi, M.; Jafari, A.; Tajalli, H.

    2007-01-01

    Self phase modulation in dye doped liquid crystals has investigated and the nonlinearity of dye doped liquid crystals is measured by this effect. The Self phase modulation effect can be used for producing optical micro rings that have many applications in photonics and laser industries.

  4. Relaxations and fast dynamics of the plastic crystal cyclo-octanol investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy

    OpenAIRE

    Lunkenheimer, Peter

    1997-01-01

    Relaxations and fast dynamics of the plastic crystal cyclo-octanol investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy / R. Brand, P. Lunkenheimer, A. Loidl. - In: Physical review. B. 56. 1997. S. R5713-R5716

  5. Atomic motions in solid and liquid methanol by neutron inelastic scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Figueiredo Neto, A.M.; Vinhas, L.A.

    1979-01-01

    The frequency spectra of methanol in three phases liquid, crystal I and crystal II were determined by incoherent inelastic neutron scattering. The measurements were performed using a Beryllium Filter Time-of-Flight Spectrometer. Neutron inelastic scattering spectra and frequency spectra allowed assignments of five peaks, corresponding to frequencies: 420 cm -1 attributed to vibrational modes of crystalline lattice, 240 and 160 cm -1 associated to stretching of hydrogen bonds, 82 and 50 cm -1 interpreted as vibrational and torsional modes of CH 3 OH units in dimers, trimers, tetramers and pentames. The results suggest crystal I phase as an intermediate phase between liquid and crystal II, concerning the structural and dynamical properties of molecules and their correlation. The plastic character of crystal I is discussed. (Author) [pt

  6. Blue Shifting Tuning of the Selective Reflection of Polymer Stabilized Cholesteric Liquid Crystals (Postprint)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-08

    crystal (MLC-2079, Merck). The polymer stabi- lizing network was formed within the samples by photoinitiated polymerization with 50–700 mW cm2 of 365...AFRL-RX-WP-JA-2017-0347 BLUE-SHIFTING TUNING OF THE SELECTIVE REFLECTION OF POLYMER STABILIZED CHOLESTERIC LIQUID CRYSTALS (POSTPRINT...BLUE-SHIFTING TUNING OF THE SELECTIVE REFLECTION OF POLYMER STABILIZED CHOLESTERIC LIQUID CRYSTALS (POSTPRINT) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8650-16-F

  7. Polystyrene Plastic Waste Conversion into Liquid Fuel with Catalytic Cracking Process Using Al2O3 as Catalyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurul Kholidah

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The increase in energy consumption and an increase in the plastic waste generation are two major problems that arise along with economic growth and the increase in population. Styrofoam is one type of polystyrene plastic waste that can be processed into liquid fuels by cracking process. In this study, the cracking process of polystyrene plastic waste into liquid fuel carried by the catalytic cracking process using Al2O3 as a catalyst. This study aimed to determine the effect of the catalyst weight, length of cracking time and range of temperature in the catalytic cracking process of polystyrene plastic waste into liquid fuel toward the mass and characteristics of liquid fuels produced and to determine the composition of liquid fuels produced. The catalytic cracking process of polystyrene plastic waste with catalyst was done in the fixed bed type reactor by heating the reactor with a heater, where the process took place at temperature of 150°C, 200°C, 250°C and 300°C and the length of the process was varied into 20, 40, and 60 minutes and the catalyst weight was also varied, which were 4%, 6% and 8%, while the styrofoam weight was 250 grams. From the research, the highest mass of liquid fuel derived from polystyrene catalytic cracking process was in the amount of 48.8 grams and liquid yield percentage of 19.5% at temperature of  250°C, cracking time of 60 minutes and weight of 8% catalyst, while the characteristics of liquid fuel that were approaching the characteristics of gasoline was at temperatures of 250°C, cracking time of 60 minutes and weight of 6% catalyst, in which each value of density of 0.763 g/ml, specific gravity of 0.778 and oAPI gravity of 50.2. While other liquid fuels obtained from the cracking of polystyrene were still within the tolerance range characteristic properties of gasoline. Liquid fuels produced from the catalytic cracking process was analyzed using a GC-MS, in which the analysis results indicated that liquid

  8. Macroscopic chirality of a liquid crystal from nonchiral molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakli, A.; Nair, G. G.; Lee, C. K.; Sun, R.; Chien, L. C.

    2001-01-01

    The transfer of chirality from nonchiral polymer networks to the racemic B2 phase of nonchiral banana-shaped molecules is demonstrated. This corresponds to the transfer of chirality from an achiral material to another achiral material. There are two levels of chirality transfers. (a) On a microscopic level the presence of a polymer network (chiral or nonchiral) favors a chiral state over a thermodynamically stable racemic state due to the inversion symmetry breaking at the polymer-liquid crystal interfaces. (b) A macroscopically chiral (enantimerically enriched) sample can be produced if the polymer network has a helical structure, and/or contains chemically chiral groups. The chirality transfer can be locally suppressed by exposing the liquid crystal to a strong electric field treatment

  9. New structural studies of liquid crystal by reflectivity and resonant X-ray diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandes, P.

    2007-04-01

    This memory presents three structural studies of smectic Liquid Crystals by reflectivity and resonant diffraction of X-rays. It is divided in five chapters. In the first a short introduction to Liquid Crystals is given. In particular, the smectic phases that are the object of this study are presented. The second chapter is consecrated to the X-ray experimental techniques that were used in this work. The three last chapters present the works on which this thesis can be divided. Chapter three demonstrates on free-standing films of MHPOBC (historic liquid crystal that possesses the antiferroelectric sub-phases) the possibility to extend the technique of resonant X-ray diffraction to liquid crystals without resonant element. In the fourth chapter the structure of the B 2 liquid crystal phase of bent-core molecules (or banana molecules) is elucidated by using resonant X-ray diffraction combined with polarization analysis of the diffracted beam. A model of the polarization of the resonant beam diffracted by four different structures proposed for the B 2 phase is developed in this chapter. In the fifth chapter a smectic binary mixture presenting a very original critical point of phase separation is studied by X-ray reflectivity and optical microscopy. A concentration gradient in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the film seems to be induced by the free-standing film geometry. The results of a simplified model of the system are compatible with this interpretation

  10. Density-viscosity product of small-volume ionic liquid samples using quartz crystal impedance analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McHale, Glen; Hardacre, Chris; Ge, Rile; Doy, Nicola; Allen, Ray W K; MacInnes, Jordan M; Bown, Mark R; Newton, Michael I

    2008-08-01

    Quartz crystal impedance analysis has been developed as a technique to assess whether room-temperature ionic liquids are Newtonian fluids and as a small-volume method for determining the values of their viscosity-density product, rho eta. Changes in the impedance spectrum of a 5-MHz fundamental frequency quartz crystal induced by a water-miscible room-temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimiclazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate ([C4mim][OTf]), were measured. From coupled frequency shift and bandwidth changes as the concentration was varied from 0 to 100% ionic liquid, it was determined that this liquid provided a Newtonian response. A second water-immiscible ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [C4mim][NTf2], with concentration varied using methanol, was tested and also found to provide a Newtonian response. In both cases, the values of the square root of the viscosity-density product deduced from the small-volume quartz crystal technique were consistent with those measured using a viscometer and density meter. The third harmonic of the crystal was found to provide the closest agreement between the two measurement methods; the pure ionic liquids had the largest difference of approximately 10%. In addition, 18 pure ionic liquids were tested, and for 11 of these, good-quality frequency shift and bandwidth data were obtained; these 12 all had a Newtonian response. The frequency shift of the third harmonic was found to vary linearly with square root of viscosity-density product of the pure ionic liquids up to a value of square root(rho eta) approximately 18 kg m(-2) s(-1/2), but with a slope 10% smaller than that predicted by the Kanazawa and Gordon equation. It is envisaged that the quartz crystal technique could be used in a high-throughput microfluidic system for characterizing ionic liquids.

  11. Alcohol-responsive, hydrogen-bonded, cholesteric liquid-crystal networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chang, C.; Bastiaansen, C.W.M.; Broer, D.J.; Kuo, H.-L.

    2012-01-01

    Hydrogen-bridged, cholesteric liquid-crystal (CLC) polymer networks are adopted as an optical sensor material to distinguish between ethanol and methanol. Fast uptake of the alcohols is facilitated by an incorporated porosity created by breaking the hydrogen bridges and by a previously removed

  12. Frequency tunability of solid-core photonic crystal fibers filled with nanoparticle-doped liquid crystals

    OpenAIRE

    Scolari, Lara; Gauza, Sebastian; Xianyu, Haiqing; Zhai, Lei; Eskildsen, Lars; Alkeskjold, Thomas Tanggaard; Wu, Shin-Tson; Bjarklev, Anders Overgaard

    2009-01-01

    We infiltrate liquid crystals doped with BaTiO3 nanoparticles in a photonic crystal fiber and compare the measured transmission spectrum with the one achieved without dopant. New interesting features, such as frequency modulation response of the device and a transmission spectrum with tunable attenuation on the short wavelength side of the widest bandgap, suggest a potential application of this device as a tunable all-in-fiber gain equalization filter with an adjustable slope. The tunability ...

  13. Electric-field responsive contrast agent based on liquid crystals and magnetic nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mair, Lamar O.; Martinez-Miranda, Luz J.; Kurihara, Lynn K.; Nacev, Aleksandar; Hilaman, Ryan; Chowdhury, Sagar; Jafari, Sahar; Ijanaten, Said; da Silva, Claudian; Baker-McKee, James; Stepanov, Pavel Y.; Weinberg, Irving N.

    2018-05-01

    The properties of liquid crystal-magnetic nanoparticle composites have potential for sensing in the body. We study the response of a liquid crystal-magnetic nanoparticle (LC-MNP) composite to applied potentials of hundreds of volts per meter. Measuring samples using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and imaging composites using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we demonstrate that electric potentials applied across centimeter scale LC-MNP composite samples can be detected using XRD and MRI techniques.

  14. A new method of liquid crystal thermometry excluding human color sensation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kunugi, Tomoaki; Akino, Norio; Ueda, Masaharu.

    1987-01-01

    Some choresteric liquid crystals can be used as a thermometer because of their color changes with varying temperatures. However, it is impossible to employ human color sensation for precise quantitative evaluation of temperature from their color. Therefore, a new method of liquid crystal thermometry is developed using narrow band optical filters and an image processor to exclude the employment of human color sensation. Relations between filter wavelength and temperature were determined by calibration tests. Two dimensional temperature distributions on a heated plate were successfully measured by the present method. (author)

  15. Memory effect of polymer dispersed liquid crystal by hybridization with nanoclay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The electro-optical performances of polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC were investigated in the presence of organically modified clays. With the addition and increasing amount of modified clay, driving voltage and memory effect, viz. transparent state of the film after the electricity is off simultaneously increased due most likely to the increased viscosity. Among the two types of modifier, 4-(4-aminophenyl benzonitrile having greater chemical affinity with LC than hexylamine, gave finer dispersion of clay in liquid crystal, greater viscosity, larger driving voltage and response time, and greater memory effect.

  16. Local structural ordering in surface-confined liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Śliwa, I.; Jeżewski, W.; Zakharov, A. V.

    2017-06-01

    The effect of the interplay between attractive nonlocal surface interactions and attractive pair long-range intermolecular couplings on molecular structures of liquid crystals confined in thin cells with flat solid surfaces has been studied. Extending the McMillan mean field theory to include finite systems, it has been shown that confining surfaces can induce complex orientational and translational ordering of molecules. Typically, local smectic A, nematic, and isotropic phases have been shown to coexist in certain temperature ranges, provided that confining cells are sufficiently thick, albeit finite. Due to the nonlocality of surface interactions, the spatial arrangement of these local phases can display, in general, an unexpected complexity along the surface normal direction. In particular, molecules located in the vicinity of surfaces can still be organized in smectic layers, even though nematic and/or isotropic order can simultaneously appear in the interior of cells. The resulting surface freezing of smectic layers has been confirmed to occur even for rather weak surface interactions. The surface interactions cannot, however, prevent smectic layers from melting relatively close to system boundaries, even when molecules are still arranged in layers within the central region of the system. The internal interfaces, separating individual liquid-crystal phases, are demonstrated here to form fronts of local finite-size transitions that move across cells under temperature changes. Although the complex molecular ordering in surface confined liquid-crystal systems can essentially be controlled by temperature variations, specific thermal properties of these systems, especially the nature of the local transitions, are argued to be strongly conditioned to the degree of molecular packing.

  17. A theory of the nematic liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazoume, R.P.

    1980-09-01

    A theory of the nematic phase of liquid crystals is presented, taking explicit account of the geometry of the molecule. The three broad peaks of the neutron scattering structure factor are explained. Expressions of the order parameters (average value of Psub(2L)) are given and they can be extracted by comparison with scattering experiments. (author)

  18. Supramolecular Liquid Crystal Displays Construction and Applications

    OpenAIRE

    Hoogboom, J.T.V.

    2004-01-01

    This thesis describes chemical methodologies, which can be ued to construct alignment layers for liquid crystal display purposes in a non-clean room environment, by making use of supramolecular chemistry. These techniques are subsequently used to attain control over LCD-properties, both pre- and post-LCD construction. In addition, the thesis describes the application of LCD technology in biosensors.

  19. Recent advances in IR liquid crystal spatial light modulators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Fenglin; Twieg, Robert J.; Wu, Shin-Tson

    2015-09-01

    Liquid crystal (LC) is an amazing class of electro-optic media; its applications span from visible to infrared, millimeter wave, and terahertz regions. In the visible and short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) regions, most LCs are highly transparent. However, to extend the electro-optic application of LCs into MWIR and LWIR, several key technical challenges have to be overcome: (1) low absorption loss, (2) high birefringence, (3) low operation voltage, and (4) fast response time. In the MWIR and LWIR regions, several fundamental molecular vibration bands and overtones exist, which contribute to high absorption loss. The absorbed light turns to heat and then alters the birefringence locally, which in turns causes spatially non-uniform phase modulation. To suppress the optical loss, several approaches have been investigated: (1) Employing thin cell gap by choosing a high birefringence LC mixture; (2) Shifting the absorption bands outside the spectral region of interest by deuteration, fluorination, or chlorination; (3) Reducing the overtone absorption by using a short alkyl chain. In this paper, we report some recently developed chlorinated LC compounds and mixtures with low absorption loss in the SWIR and MWIR regions. To achieve fast response time, we demonstrated a polymer network liquid crystal with 2π phase change at MWIR and response time less than 5 ms. Approaches to extend such a liquid crystal spatial light modulator to long-wavelength infrared will be discussed.

  20. Bismuth-ceramic nanocomposites through ball milling and liquid crystal synthetic methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dellinger, Timothy Michael

    Three methods were developed for the synthesis of bismuth-ceramic nanocomposites, which are of interest due to possible use as thermoelectric materials. In the first synthetic method, high energy ball milling of bismuth metal with either MgO or SiO2 was found to produce nanostructured bismuth dispersed on a ceramic material. The morphology of the resulting bismuth depended on its wetting behavior with respect to the ceramic: the metal wet the MgO, but did not wet on the SiO2. Differential Scanning Calorimetry measurements on these composites revealed unusual thermal stability, with nanostructure retained after multiple cycles of heating and cooling through the metal's melting point. The second synthesis methodology was based on the use of lyotropic liquid crystals. These mixtures of water and amphiphilic molecules self-assemble to form periodic structures with nanometer-scale hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains. A novel shear mixing methodology was developed for bringing together reactants which were added to the liquid crystals as dissolved salts. The liquid crystals served to mediate synthesis by acting as nanoreactors to confine chemical reactions within the nanoscale domains of the mesophase, and resulted in the production of nanoparticles. By synthesizing lead sulfide (PbS) and bismuth (Bi) particles as proof-of-concept, it was shown that nanoparticle size could be controlled by controlling the dimensionality of the nanoreactors through control of the liquid crystalline phase. Particle size was shown to decrease upon going from three-dimensionally percolating nanoreactors, to two dimensional sheet-like nanoreactors, to one dimensional rod-like nanoreactors. Additionally, particle size could be controlled by varying the precursor salt concentration. Since the nanoparticles did not agglomerate in the liquid crystal immediately after synthesis, bismuth-ceramic nanocomposites could be prepared by synthesizing Bi nanoparticles and mixing in SiO2 particles which

  1. Morphology Dependent Flow Stress in Nickel-Based Superalloys in the Multi-Scale Crystal Plasticity Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahriyar Keshavarz

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper develops a framework to obtain the flow stress of nickel-based superalloys as a function of γ-γ’ morphology. The yield strength is a major factor in the design of these alloys. This work provides additional effects of γ’ morphology in the design scope that has been adopted for the model developed by authors. In general, the two-phase γ-γ’ morphology in nickel-based superalloys can be divided into three variables including γ’ shape, γ’ volume fraction and γ’ size in the sub-grain microstructure. In order to obtain the flow stress, non-Schmid crystal plasticity constitutive models at two length scales are employed and bridged through a homogenized multi-scale framework. The multi-scale framework includes two sub-grain and homogenized grain scales. For the sub-grain scale, a size-dependent, dislocation-density-based finite element model (FEM of the representative volume element (RVE with explicit depiction of the γ-γ’ morphology is developed as a building block for the homogenization. For the next scale, an activation-energy-based crystal plasticity model is developed for the homogenized single crystal of Ni-based superalloys. The constitutive models address the thermo-mechanical behavior of nickel-based superalloys for a large temperature range and include orientation dependencies and tension-compression asymmetry. This homogenized model is used to obtain the morphology dependence on the flow stress in nickel-based superalloys and can significantly expedite crystal plasticity FE simulations in polycrystalline microstructures, as well as higher scale FE models in order to cast and design superalloys.

  2. Theory of liquid crystal elastomers and polymer networks : Connection between neoclassical theory and differential geometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Thanh-Son; Selinger, Jonathan V

    2017-09-01

    In liquid crystal elastomers and polymer networks, the orientational order of liquid crystals is coupled with elastic distortions of crosslinked polymers. Previous theoretical research has described these materials through two different approaches: a neoclassical theory based on the liquid crystal director and the deformation gradient tensor, and a geometric elasticity theory based on the difference between the actual metric tensor and a reference metric. Here, we connect those two approaches using a formalism based on differential geometry. Through this connection, we determine how both the director and the geometry respond to a change of temperature.

  3. Electrotransport in ionic crystals: Pt. 1. Application of liquid electrolyte theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janek, J.

    1994-01-01

    Transport of matter and charge in ionic crystals is only possible by the existence of irregular structure elements (defects) which are often charged relative to the crystal lattice. A comparison between the transport behaviour of a crystalline matrix containing such charged defects and a liquid electrolyte containing dissolved ions shows a lot of similarities. As is well known the transport properties of liquid electrolytes are strongly affected by interactions between the dissolved ions. We have applied the well elaborated concept of mixed electrolytes by Onsager and Fuoss which was originally devoted to liquid electrolytes to ionic crystals containing charged point defects. The equations of Onsager and Fuoss allow in principle the calculation of the concentration dependence of the phenomenological transport coefficients L ij of all charge carriers of n-component electrolytes. We will use these equations to predict the transport behaviour of ionic crystals containing differently charged point defects. As examples we have calculated transport coefficients for electrolyte systems which can be regarded as models for the transition metal oxides Co 1-δ O and Cu 2-δ O. One major result concerns the magnitude of the cross effect between the ionic and electronic fluxes in those materials. The implications of these results with respect to experimental observations are discussed. (orig.)

  4. Some problems of the statistical theory of polymeric lyotropic liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grosberg, A.Yu.; Khokhlov, A.R.

    1980-06-01

    In this article we consider some topics of the statistical physics of liquid-crystalline phase in the solutions of stiff chain macromolecules. Among these topics are: the problem of the phase diagram for the liquid-crystalline transition in the solutions of completely stiff macromolecules (rigid rods); conditions of formation of the liquid-crystalline phase in the solutions of semiflexible macromolecules; possibility of the intramolecular liquid-crystalline ordering in semiflexible macromolecules; structure of intramolecular liquid crystals and dependence of the properties of the liquid-crystalline phase on the microstructure of the polymer chain. (author)

  5. Optical tuning of photonic bandgaps in dye-doped nematic liquid crystal photonic crystal fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alkeskjold, Thomas Tanggaard; Bjarklev, Anders Overgaard; Hermann, David Sparre

    2005-01-01

    An all-optical modulator is demonstrated, which utilizes a pulsed 532 nm laser to modulate the spectral position of the bandgaps in a photonic crystal fiber infiltrated with a dye-doped nematic liquid crystal. In order to investigate the time response of the LCPBG fiber device, a low-power CW probe...... laser was coupled into the fiber together with the pulsed pump laser of 2.3 mW and we have demonstrated a modulation frequency of up to 2 kHz....

  6. Magneto-optic dynamics in a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal

    OpenAIRE

    Potisk, Tilen; Mertelj, Alenka; Sebastian, Nerea; Osterman, Natan; Lisjak, Darja; Brand, Helmut R.; Pleiner, Harald; Svenšek, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    We investigate dynamic magneto-optic effects in a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal experimentally and theoretically. Experimentally we measure the magnetization and the phase difference of the transmitted light when an external magnetic field is applied. As a model we study the coupled dynamics of the magnetization, M, and the director field, n, associated with the liquid crystalline orientational order. We demonstrate that the experimentally studied macroscopic dynamic behavior reveals t...

  7. Geometrical optics approach in liquid crystal films with three-dimensional director variations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panasyuk, G; Kelly, J; Gartland, E C; Allender, D W

    2003-04-01

    A formal geometrical optics approach (GOA) to the optics of nematic liquid crystals whose optic axis (director) varies in more than one dimension is described. The GOA is applied to the propagation of light through liquid crystal films whose director varies in three spatial dimensions. As an example, the GOA is applied to the calculation of light transmittance for the case of a liquid crystal cell which exhibits the homeotropic to multidomainlike transition (HMD cell). Properties of the GOA solution are explored, and comparison with the Jones calculus solution is also made. For variations on a smaller scale, where the Jones calculus breaks down, the GOA provides a fast, accurate method for calculating light transmittance. The results of light transmittance calculations for the HMD cell based on the director patterns provided by two methods, direct computer calculation and a previously developed simplified model, are in good agreement.

  8. Thermal expansion accompanying the glass-liquid transition and crystallization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Q. Jiang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We report the linear thermal expansion behaviors of a Zr-based (Vitreloy 1 bulk metallic glass in its as-cast, annealed and crystallized states. Accompanying the glass-liquid transition, the as-cast Vitreloy 1 shows a continuous decrease in the thermal expansivity, whereas the annealed glass shows a sudden increase. The crystallized Vitreloy 1 exhibits an almost unchanged thermal expansivity prior to its melting. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the nucleation of crystalline phases can induce a significant thermal shrinkage of the supercooled liquid, but with the growth of these nuclei, the thermal expansion again dominates. These results are explained in the framework of the potential energy landscape, advocating that the configurational and vibrational contributions to the thermal expansion of the glass depend on both, structure and temperature.

  9. Polymer Stabilization of Liquid-Crystal Blue Phase II toward Photonic Crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Seong-Yong; Jeon, Sung-Wook; Kim, Byeong-Cheon; Bae, Jae-Hyun; Araoka, Fumito; Choi, Suk-Won

    2017-03-15

    The temperature ranges where a pure simple-cubic blue phase (BPII) emerges are quite narrow compared to the body-centered-cubic BP (BPI) such that the polymer stabilization of BPII is much more difficult. Hence, a polymer-stabilized BPII possessing a wide temperature range has been scarcely reported. Here, we fabricate a polymer-stabilized BPII over a temperature range of 50 °C including room temperature. The fabricated polymer-stabilized BPII is confirmed via polarized optical microscopy, Bragg reflection, and Kossel diagram observations. Furthermore, we demonstrate reflective BP liquid-crystal devices utilizing the reflectance-voltage performance as a potential application of the polymer-stabilized BPII. Our work demonstrates the possibility of practical application of the polymer-stabilized BPII to photonic crystals.

  10. Dichroic Liquid Crystal Displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahadur, Birendra

    The following sections are included: * INTRODUCTION * DICHROIC DYES * Chemical Structure * Chemical and Photochemical Stability * THEORETICAL MODELLING * DEFECTS CAUSED BY PROLONGED LIGHT IRRADIATION * CHEMICAL STRUCTURE AND PHOTOSTABILITY * OTHER PARAMETERS AFFECTING PHOTOSTABILITY * CELL PREPARATION * DICHROIC PARAMETERS AND THEIR MEASUREMENTS * Order Parameter and Dichroic Ratio Of Dyes * Absorbance, Order Parameter and Dichroic Ratio Measurements * IMPACT OF DYE STRUCTURE AND LIQUID CRYSTAL HOST ON PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A DICHROIC MIXTURE * Order Parameter and Dichroic Ratio * EFFECT OF LENGTH OF DICHROIC DYES ON THE ORDER PARAMETER * EFFECT OF THE BREADTH OF DYE ON THE ORDER PARAMETER * EFFECT OF THE HOST ON THE ORDER PARAMETER * TEMPERATURE VARIATION OF THE ORDER PARAMETER OF DYES IN A LIQUID CRYSTAL HOST * IMPACT OF DYE CONCENTRATION ON THE ORDER PARAMETER * Temperature Range * Viscosity * Dielectric Constant and Anisotropy * Refractive Indices and Birefringence * solubility43,153-156 * Absorption Wavelength and Auxochromic Groups * Molecular Engineering of Dichroic Dyes * OPTICAL, ELECTRO-OPTICAL AND LIFE PARAMETERS * Colour And CIE Colour space120,160-166 * CIE 1931 COLOUR SPACE * CIE 1976 CHROMATICITY DIAGRAM * CIE UNIFORM COLOUR SPACES & COLOUR DIFFERENCE FORMULAE120,160-166 * Electro-Optical Parameters120 * LUMINANCE * CONTRAST AND CONTRAST RATIO * SWITCHING SPEED * Life Parameters and Failure Modes * DICHROIC MIXTURE FORMULATION * Monochrome Mixture * Black Mixture * ACHROMATIC BLACK MIXTURE FOR HEILMEIER DISPLAYS * Effect of Illuminant on Display Colour * Colour of the Field-On State * Effect of Dye Linewidth * Optimum Centroid Wavelengths * Effect of Dye Concentration * Mixture Formulation Using More Than Three Dyes * ACHROMATIC MIXTURE FOR WHITE-TAYLOR TYPE DISPLAYS * HEILMEIER DISPLAYS * Theoretical Modelling * Threshold Characteristic * Effects of Dye Concentration on Electro-optical Parameters * Effect of Cholesteric Doping * Effect of Alignment

  11. Magnetic Nanoparticle-Assisted Tunable Optical Patterns from Spherical Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Bragg Reflectors

    OpenAIRE

    Lin, Yali; Yang, Yujie; Shan, Yuwei; Gong, Lingli; Chen, Jingzhi; Li, Sensen; Chen, Lujian

    2017-01-01

    Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) exhibit selective Bragg reflections of circularly polarized (CP) light owing to their spontaneous self-assembly abilities into periodic helical structures. Photonic cross-communication patterns could be generated toward potential security applications by spherical cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) structures. To endow these optical patterns with tunability, we fabricated spherical CLC Bragg reflectors in the shape of microshells by glass-capillary microfluidi...

  12. Alignment of carbon nanotubes in nematic liquid crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoot, van der P.P.A.M.; Popa-Nita, V.; Kralj, S.

    2008-01-01

    The self-organizing properties of nematic liquid crystals can be used to align carbon nanotubes dispersed in them. Because the nanotubes are so much thinner than the elastic penetration length, the alignment is caused by the coupling of the unperturbed director field to the anisotropic interfacial

  13. Optical monitoring of gases with cholesteric liquid crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Han, Y.; Pacheco Morillo, K.B.; Bastiaansen, C.W.M.; Broer, D.J.; Sijbesma, R.P.

    2010-01-01

    A new approach to optical monitors for gases is introduced using cholesteric liquid crystals doped with reactive chiral compounds. The approach is based on cholesteric pitch length changes caused by a change in helical twisting power (HTP) of the chiral dopants upon reaction with the analyte. The

  14. The study of the elasticity of spider dragline silk with liquid crystal model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cui Linying; Liu Fei; Ouyang Zhongcan

    2009-01-01

    Spider dragline silk is an optimal biomaterial with a combination of high tensile strength and high elasticity, and it has long been suggested to belong to liquid crystalline materials. However, a satisfactory liquid crystal description for the mechanical properties of the dragline is still missing. To solve the long existing problem, we generalized the Maier-Saupe theory of nematics to construct a liquid crystal model of the deformation mechanism of the dragline silk. We show that the remarkable elasticity of the dragline can be understood as the isotropic-nematic phase transition of the chain network with the beginning of the transition corresponding to the yield point. The calculated curve fits well with the measurements and the yield point is obtained self-consistently within our framework. The present theory can also qualitatively account for the drop of stress in supercontracted spider silk. All these comprehensive agreements between theory and experiments strongly indicate the dragline to belong to liquid crystal materials.

  15. Charge Transport and Phase Behavior of Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid Crystals from Fully Atomistic Simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quevillon, Michael J; Whitmer, Jonathan K

    2018-01-02

    Ionic liquid crystals occupy an intriguing middle ground between room-temperature ionic liquids and mesostructured liquid crystals. Here, we examine a non-polarizable, fully atomistic model of the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate family using molecular dynamics in the constant pressure-constant temperature ensemble. These materials exhibit a distinct "smectic" liquid phase, characterized by layers formed by the molecules, which separate the ionic and aliphatic moieties. In particular, we discuss the implications this layering may have for electrolyte applications.

  16. Les polymères auto-renforcés à cristaux liquides Self-Reinforcing Liquid-Crystal Polymers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorbon M.

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Les polymères auto-renforcés à cristaux liquides (PARCL sont des matériaux dont les molécules, des polymères organiques, sont susceptibles de s'auto-orienter les unes par rapport aux autres. Cette propriété leur confère des caractéristiques mécaniques proches de celles des acier: pour des poids plus faibles sans qu'il soit nécessaire d'avoir recours à des fibres renforçantes. Il existe deux types de PARCL: ceux pouvant s'orienter en solution, qualifiés de lyotropiques, et ceux pouvant s'orienter à l'état fondu, appelés thermotropiques. Des fibres en poly (p-phénylène térephtalamide PPT, PARCL de type lyotropique, sont disponibles commercialement et connaissent déjà de nombreuses applications. Les PARCL thermotropiques n'existent pas encore sur le marché mais sont porteurs de nombreux espoirs car ils sont susceptibles d'être moulés et donc de prendre les formes les plus diverses, ce qui n'est pas le cas de ceux de type lyotropique. Self-reinforcing liquid-crystal polymers are materials in which the molecules, i. e. organic polymers, are capable of orienting themselves in relation to one another. This property gives them mechanical characteristics close to those of steels yet of much less weight without having to use reinforcing fibers. There are two types of self-reinforcing liquid-crystal polymers: (i those capable of orienting themselves in solution, called Iyotropic, and (ii those capable of orienting themselves in a molten state, called thermotropic. Poly (p-phenylene terephthalamide fibers, self-reinforcing liquid-crystal polymers of the Iyotropic type, are commercially available and have already found numerous applications. Thermotropic self-reinforcing liquid-crystal polymers are not yet on the market but seem to be very promising because they are capable of being molded and hence of taking on a wide variety of shapes, which is not the case of those of the lyotropic type.

  17. Liquid Crystal Mediated Nano-assembled Gold Micro-shells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quint, Makiko; Sarang, Som; Quint, David; Huang, Kerwyn; Gopinathan, Ajay; Hirst, Linda; Ghosh, Sayantani

    We have created 3D nano-assenbled micro-shell by using thermotropic liquid crystal (LC), 4-Cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB), doped with mesogen-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The assembly process is driven by the isotropic-nematic phase transition dynamics. We uniformly disperse the functionalized AuNPs into isotropic liquid crystal matrix and the mixture is cooled from the isotropic to the nematic phase. During the phase transition, the separation of LC-AuNP rich isotropic and ordered 5CB rich domains cause the functionalized AuNPs to move into the shrinking isotropic regions. The mesogenic ligands are locally crystalized during this process, which leads to the formation of a spherical shell with a densely packed wall of AuNPs. These micro-shells are capable of encapsulating fluorescence dye without visible leakages for several months. Additionally, they demonstrate strong localized surface plasmon resonance, which leads to localized heating on optical excitation. This photothermal effect disrupts the structure, releasing contents within seconds. Our results exhibiting the capture and optically regulated release of encapsulated substances is a novel platform that combines drug-delivery and photothermal therapy in one versatile and multifunctional unit. This work is supported by the NSF Grants No. DMR-1056860, ECC-1227034, and a University of California Merced Faculty Mentor Fellowship.

  18. Thermodynamic properties of a liquid crystal carbosilane dendrimer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samosudova, Ya. S.; Markin, A. V.; Smirnova, N. N.; Ogurtsov, T. G.; Boiko, N. I.; Shibaev, V. P.

    2016-11-01

    The temperature dependence of the heat capacity of a first-generation liquid crystal carbosilane dendrimer with methoxyphenyl benzoate end groups is studied for the first time in the region of 6-370 K by means of precision adiabatic vacuum calorimetry. Physical transformations are observed in this interval of temperatures, and their standard thermodynamic characteristics are determined and discussed. Standard thermodynamic functions C p ° ( T), H°( T) - H°(0), S°( T) - S°(0), and G°( T) - H°(0) are calculated from the obtained experimental data for the region of T → 0 to 370 K. The standard entropy of formation of the dendrimer in the partially crystalline state at T = 298.15 K is calculated, and the standard entropy of the hypothetic reaction of its synthesis at this temperature is estimated. The thermodynamic properties of the studied dendrimer are compared to those of second- and fourth-generation liquid crystal carbosilane dendrimers with the same end groups studied earlier.

  19. A new polymer electrolyte based on a discotic liquid crystal triblock copolymer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoeva, Zlatka; Lu, Zhibao; Ingram, Malcolm D.; Imrie, Corrie T.

    2013-01-01

    A discotic liquid crystal triblock copolymer consisting of a central main chain triphenylene-based liquid crystal block capped at both ends by blocks of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) (M W = 2000 g mol −1 ) has been doped with lithium perchlorate in an EO:Li 6:1 ratio. The polymer electrolyte exhibits a phase separated morphology consisting of a columnar hexagonal liquid crystal phase and PEO-rich regions. The polymer electrolyte forms self-supporting, solid-like films. The ionic conductivity on initial heating of the sample is very low below ca. 60 °C but increases rapidly above this temperature. This is attributed to the melting of crystalline PEO-rich regions. Crystallisation is suppressed on cooling, and subsequent heating cycles exhibit higher conductivities but still less than those measured for the corresponding lithium perchlorate complex in poly(ethylene glycol) (M W = 2000 g mol −1 ). Instead the triblock copolymer mimics the behaviour of high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) (M W = 300,000 g mol −1 ). This is attributed, in part, to the anchoring of the short PEG chains to the liquid crystal block which prevents their diffusion through the sample. Temperature and pressure variations in ion mobility indicate that the ion transport mechanism in the new material is closely related to that in the conventional PEO-based electrolyte, opening up the possibility of engineering enhanced conductivities in future

  20. Carrier-mediated transport of actinides and rare earth elements through liquid and plasticized membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopunec, R.; Ngo Manh, Th.

    1994-01-01

    The first works in this field were realized approximately 25 years ago, when BLOCK et al. reported their studies about carrier-mediated transport (also called pertraction or membrane extraction) of uranium through plasticized membranes with neutral esters derived from phosphoric acid. At this time, the methodical principles of selective pertraction of ionic compounds through so-called bulk liquid membranes containing carriers were known. However, these membranes, similarly as plasticized membranes, have not achieved a broader use. This is probably because bulk liquid membranes are from a technical point of view fairly distant from the idea of a typical membrane system, and plasticized membranes (sometimes also called gel membranes) present great resistance. By the end of the 1960's and at the beginning of the 1970's, LI and CUSSLER worked out the principles for two widely used pertraction techniques, called pertraction through emulsion liquid and supported liquid membranes (ELM and SLM). These two techniques not only have greatest significance in laboratory practice, but they also are interesting for technological aims because of the attainable large phase boundaries, e.g. 10 3 -10 4 m 2 /m 3 . Many ways to arrange membrane systems are described in papers. Recently, the significance of carrier-mediated transport through liquid membranes has grown to have (since 1980) separate section at the International Solvent Extraction Conference. This paper does not deal with mathematical models and the mechanism of pertraction in general, but it gives an overview of results obtained in publications referring to pertraction of two related element groups - actinoids and rare earth elements - using various membrane types. (author) 154 refs

  1. NATO Advanced Study Institute on Advances in the Computer Simulations of Liquid Crystals

    CERN Document Server

    Zannoni, Claudio

    2000-01-01

    Computer simulations provide an essential set of tools for understanding the macroscopic properties of liquid crystals and of their phase transitions in terms of molecular models. While simulations of liquid crystals are based on the same general Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics techniques as are used for other fluids, they present a number of specific problems and peculiarities connected to the intrinsic properties of these mesophases. The field of computer simulations of anisotropic fluids is interdisciplinary and is evolving very rapidly. The present volume covers a variety of techniques and model systems, from lattices to hard particle and Gay-Berne to atomistic, for thermotropics, lyotropics, and some biologically interesting liquid crystals. Contributions are written by an excellent panel of international lecturers and provides a timely account of the techniques and problems in the field.

  2. Electrically switchable photonic liquid crystal devices for routing of a polarized light wave

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rushnova, Irina I.; Melnikova, Elena A.; Tolstik, Alexei L.; Muravsky, Alexander A.

    2018-04-01

    The new mode of LC alignment based on photoalignment AtA-2 azo dye where the refractive interface between orthogonal orientations of the LC director exists without voltage and disappeared or changed with critical voltage has been proposed. The technology to fabricate electrically controlled liquid crystal elements for spatial separation and switching of linearly polarized light beams on the basis of the total internal reflection effect has been significantly improved. Its distinctive feature is the application of a composite alignment material comprising two sublayers of Nylon-6 and AtA-2 photoalignment azo dye offering patterned liquid crystal director orientation with high alignment quality value q = 0 . 998. The fabricated electrically controlled spatially structured liquid crystal devices enable implementation of propagation directions separation for orthogonally polarized light beams and their switching with minimal crosstalk.

  3. Beam-splitter switches based on zenithal bistable liquid-crystal gratings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zografopoulos, Dimitrios C; Beccherelli, Romeo; Kriezis, Emmanouil E

    2014-10-01

    The tunable optical diffractive properties of zenithal bistable nematic liquid-crystal gratings are theoretically investigated. The liquid-crystal orientation is rigorously solved via a tensorial formulation of the Landau-de Gennes theory and the optical transmission properties of the gratings are investigated via full-wave finite-element frequency-domain simulations. It is demonstrated that by proper design the two stable states of the grating can provide nondiffracting and diffracting operation, the latter with equal power splitting among different diffraction orders. An electro-optic switching mechanism, based on dual-frequency nematic materials, and its temporal dynamics are further discussed. Such gratings provide a solution towards tunable beam-steering and beam-splitting components with extremely low power consumption.

  4. Comparison of plastic scintillating fibres and capillaries filled with liquid scintillator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cardini, A.; Cavasinni, V.; Girolamo, B. di; Flaminio, V.; Golovkin, S.V.; Gorin, A.M.; Kulichenko, A.V.; Kushnirenko, A.E.; Pyshev, A.I.; Manuilov, I.; Vasilchenko, V.G.

    1994-01-01

    A comparison is made between the light yield, attenuation length, time response and light propagation speed in plastic scintillating fibres (SCSF-38 and Kuraray-3HF) and quartz capillaries filled with liquid scintillator (LS) 1-methilnaphthalene (1MN) doped with new dyes R45 and R39. The inner diameter of capillaries and diameter of plastic fibres is 0.5 mm. The number of photoelectrons detected at the far end (2 m) was 2.9 for capillaries filled with 1MN+3 g/l R45 while it was 1.8 times smaller in the case of SCSF-38 and 3 times smaller in the case of Kuraray 3HF plastic fibres. Taking into account the quantum efficiency of the photodetector used these reduction factors became 3.0 and 2.0, respectively. Good attenuation length, high light output and also excellent radiation resistance of capillaries filled with LS (>60 Mrad, measured elsewhere) show that they are a very promising alternative to plastic scintillating fibres for future applications in tracking detectors and calorimeters. ((orig.))

  5. Theoretically informed Monte Carlo simulation of liquid crystals by sampling of alignment-tensor fields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armas-Pérez, Julio C.; Londono-Hurtado, Alejandro [Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637 (United States); Guzmán, Orlando [Departamento de Física, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, DF 09340, México (Mexico); Hernández-Ortiz, Juan P. [Departamento de Materiales y Minerales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín (Colombia); Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637 (United States); Pablo, Juan J. de, E-mail: depablo@uchicago.edu [Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637 (United States); Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

    2015-07-28

    A theoretically informed coarse-grained Monte Carlo method is proposed for studying liquid crystals. The free energy functional of the system is described in the framework of the Landau-de Gennes formalism. The alignment field and its gradients are approximated by finite differences, and the free energy is minimized through a stochastic sampling technique. The validity of the proposed method is established by comparing the results of the proposed approach to those of traditional free energy minimization techniques. Its usefulness is illustrated in the context of three systems, namely, a nematic liquid crystal confined in a slit channel, a nematic liquid crystal droplet, and a chiral liquid crystal in the bulk. It is found that for systems that exhibit multiple metastable morphologies, the proposed Monte Carlo method is generally able to identify lower free energy states that are often missed by traditional approaches. Importantly, the Monte Carlo method identifies such states from random initial configurations, thereby obviating the need for educated initial guesses that can be difficult to formulate.

  6. Theoretically informed Monte Carlo simulation of liquid crystals by sampling of alignment-tensor fields.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armas-Perez, Julio C.; Londono-Hurtado, Alejandro; Guzman, Orlando; Hernandez-Ortiz, Juan P.; de Pablo, Juan J.

    2015-07-27

    A theoretically informed coarse-grained Monte Carlo method is proposed for studying liquid crystals. The free energy functional of the system is described in the framework of the Landau-de Gennes formalism. The alignment field and its gradients are approximated by finite differences, and the free energy is minimized through a stochastic sampling technique. The validity of the proposed method is established by comparing the results of the proposed approach to those of traditional free energy minimization techniques. Its usefulness is illustrated in the context of three systems, namely, a nematic liquid crystal confined in a slit channel, a nematic liquid crystal droplet, and a chiral liquid crystal in the bulk. It is found that for systems that exhibit multiple metastable morphologies, the proposed Monte Carlo method is generally able to identify lower free energy states that are often missed by traditional approaches. Importantly, the Monte Carlo method identifies such states from random initial configurations, thereby obviating the need for educated initial guesses that can be difficult to formulate.

  7. Micro-Structural Evolution and Size-Effects in Plastically Deformed Single Crystals: Strain Gradient Continuum Modeling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    El-Naaman, Salim Abdallah

    the macroscopic effects related to strain gradients, most predict smooth micro-structures. The evolution of dislocation micro-structures, during plastic straining of ductile crystalline materials, is highly complex and nonuniform. Published experimental measurements on deformed metal crystals show distinct......An extensive amount of research has been devoted to the development of micro-mechanics based gradient plasticity continuum theories, which are necessary for modeling micron-scale plasticity when large spatial gradients of plastic strain appear. While many models have proven successful in capturing...... strain. It is clear that many challenges are associated with modeling dislocation structures, within a framework based on continuum fields, however, since the strain gradient effects are attributed to the dislocation micro-structure, it is a natural step, in the further development of gradient theories...

  8. Chirality transfer technique between liquid crystal microdroplets using microfluidic systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Jin-kun; Lee, Doyeon; Song, Jang-kun

    2018-02-01

    Cholesteric liquid crystal (LC) microdroplet is applied in many areas, such as tunable laser, biosensor, information display and security identification, due to its unique optical properties. The topological structure, defects, and photonic crystallinity in the cholesteric liquid crystal (LC) microdroplet can be controlled through the chirality. Here we report an interesting phenomenon that chirality information can be shared among dispersed LC microdroplets in surfactant aqueous solution, which is driven by the transferring of chiral dopant molecules. As a result, we developed an artificial molecule transfer technology which could in situ vary the material composition within the isolated dispersed microdroplets. The molecular transfer is switchable and the transfer speed is controllable by tuning the molecular solubility in continuous phase. Based on this technique, we manipulated, forward and backward, the topological evolution and the photonic crystal band-gap of the dispersed LC droplet. This technique is an easy and powerful experimental tool, and it may be applicable to other fields in optical application, biology, chemistry and material science.

  9. Smart window using a thermally and optically switchable liquid crystal cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Seung-Won; Kim, Sang-Hyeok; Baek, Jong-Min; Yoon, Tae-Hoon

    2018-02-01

    Light shutter technologies that can control optical transparency have been studied extensively for developing curtain-free smart windows. We introduce thermally and optically switchable light shutters using LCs doped with push-pull azobenzene, which is known to speed up thermal relaxation. The liquid crystal light shutter can be switched between translucent and transparent states or transparent and opaque states by phase transition through changing temperature or photo-isomerization of doped azobenzene. The liquid crystal light shutter can be used for privacy windows with an initial translucent state or energy-saving windows with an initial transparent state.

  10. Liquid Photonic Crystals for Mesopore Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Biting; Fu, Qianqian; Chen, Ke; Ge, Jianping

    2018-01-02

    Nitrogen adsorption-desorption for mesopore characterization requires the using of expensive instrumentation, time-consuming processes, and the consumption of liquid nitrogen. Herein, a new method is developed to measure the pore parameters through mixing a mesoporous substance with a supersaturated SiO 2 colloidal solution at different temperatures, and subsequent rapid measurement of reflection changes of the precipitated liquid photonic crystals. The pore volumes and diameters of mesoporous silica were measured according to the positive correlation between unit mass reflection change (Δλ/m) and pore volume (V), and the negative correlation between average absorption temperature (T) and pore diameter (D). This new approach may provide an alternative method for fast, convenient and economical characterization of mesoporous materials. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. A dislocation-based crystal plasticity framework for dynamic ductile failure of single crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Thao; Luscher, D. J.; Wilkerson, J. W.

    2017-11-01

    A framework for dislocation-based viscoplasticity and dynamic ductile failure has been developed to model high strain rate deformation and damage in single crystals. The rate-dependence of the crystal plasticity formulation is based on the physics of relativistic dislocation kinetics suited for extremely high strain rates. The damage evolution is based on the dynamics of void growth, which are governed by both micro-inertia as well as dislocation kinetics and dislocation substructure evolution. An averaging scheme is proposed in order to approximate the evolution of the dislocation substructure in both the macroscale as well as its spatial distribution at the microscale. Additionally, a concept of a single equivalent dislocation density that effectively captures the collective influence of dislocation density on all active slip systems is proposed here. Together, these concepts and approximations enable the use of semi-analytic solutions for void growth dynamics developed in (Wilkerson and Ramesh, 2014), which greatly reduce the computational overhead that would otherwise be required. The resulting homogenized framework has been implemented into a commercially available finite element package, and a validation study against a suite of direct numerical simulations was carried out.

  12. Temperature-Frequency Converter Using a Liquid Crystal Cell as a Sensing Element

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Isidro Santos

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available A new temperature-frequency converter based on the variation of the dielectric permittivity of the Liquid Crystal (LC material with temperature has been demonstrated. Unlike other temperature sensors based on liquid crystal processing optical signals for determining the temperature, this work presents a system that is able to sense temperature by using only electrical signals. The variation of the dielectric permittivity with temperature is used to modify the capacitance of a plain capacitor using a LC material as non-ideal dielectric. An electric oscillator with an output frequency depending on variable capacitance made of a twisted-nematic (TN liquid crystal (LC cell has been built. The output frequency is related to the temperature of LC cell through the equations associated to the oscillator circuit. The experimental results show excellent temperature sensitivity, with a variation of 0.40% of the initial frequency per degree Celsius in the temperature range from −6 °C to 110 °C.

  13. Molecular reorientation of dye doped nematic liquid crystals in the laser illumination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    San, S. E.; Koeysal, O.; Ecevit, F. N.

    2002-01-01

    In this study it is investigated how dye doped nematic liquid crystals reorient under the illumination of laser beam whose wavelength is appropriate to absorbance characteristics of the doping dye. Nematic liquid crystal E7 is used with anthraquinone dye 1% wt/wt in the preparation of the sample and this material is filled in homegenously aligned measurement cell having 15 μm thickness. Mechanism of molecular reorientation includes the absorbance effects of the energy of laser by doping dye and this reorientation causes the refractive index of the material to be changed. There are potential application possibilities of such molecular reorientation based effects in nonlinear optics such as real time holography whose basis is grating diffraction that is observed and investigated in the frame of fundamentals of molecule light interaction mechanisms. Experimental analyses allowed finding characteristic values of diffraction signals depending on physical parameters of set up for a dye doped liquid crystal system and this system provided a 20 % diffraction efficiency under the optimum circumstances

  14. Progress in linear optics, non-linear optics and surface alignment of liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, H. L.; Meyer, R. B.; Hurd, A. J.; Karn, A. J.; Arakelian, S. M.; Shen, Y. R.; Sanda, P. N.; Dove, D. B.; Jansen, S. A.; Hoffmann, R.

    We first discuss the progress in linear optics, in particular, the formulation and application of geometrical-optics approximation and its generalization. We then discuss the progress in non-linear optics, in particular, the enhancement of a first-order Freedericksz transition and intrinsic optical bistability in homeotropic and parallel oriented nematic liquid crystal cells. Finally, we discuss the liquid crystal alignment and surface effects on field-induced Freedericksz transition.

  15. Liquid crystal-based hydrophone arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodzeli, Zourab; Silvestri, Leonardo; Michie, Andrew; Chigrinov, Vladimir G.; Guo, Qi; Pozhidaev, Eugene P.; Kiselev, Alexei D.; Ladouceur, Francois

    2012-09-01

    We describe a fiber optic hydrophone array system that could be used for underwater acoustic surveillance applications (e.g. military, counter terrorist, and customs authorities in protecting ports and harbors), offshore production facilities or coastal approaches as well as various marine applications. In this paper, we propose a new approach to underwater sonar systems using the voltage-controlled liquid crystals and simple multiplexing method. The proposed method permits measurement of sound under water at multiple points along an optical fiber using the low cost components and standard single mode fiber, without complex interferometric measurement techniques, electronics or demodulation software.

  16. Nanophosphor CaSO4:Eu2+ for photoluminescence liquid crystal display (PLLCD)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patle, Anita; Patil, R. R.; Moharil, S. V.

    2018-05-01

    In this work PL enhancement of CaSO4:Eu2+ nanophosphor which was synthesized with 0.01M molarity by co-precipitation method is presented. Synthesized phosphor was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and PL measurements. Average particle size is found to be in the range 80-100nm with Hexagonal morphology and PL studies showed emission peaks at 380nm, when samples were excited by 254nm. The observed PL emission is characteristic emission of Eu2+ similar to that observed in bulk CaSO4:Eu2. However under identical condition it is observed that intensity of emission get enhanced for 0.01M size which is doubled to that of 0.1M with similar emission at 380nm. A phosphor with narrow emission band around 390 nm is desirable, since at this wavelength the transmission of standard glass, polarizing plastic, other coating and LCD material is at acceptable level. Strong Eu2+ emission is observed in CaSO4:Eu nanophosphor which finds applications for PLLCD (photoluminescent liquid crystal display).

  17. Modeling Textural Processes during Self-Assembly of Plant-Based Chiral-Nematic Liquid Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yogesh K. Murugesan

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Biological liquid crystalline polymers are found in cellulosic, chitin, and DNA based natural materials. Chiral nematic liquid crystalline orientational order is observed frozen-in in the solid state in plant cell walls and is known as a liquid crystal analogue characterized by a helicoidal plywood architecture. The emergence of the plywood architecture by directed chiral nematic liquid crystalline self assembly has been postulated as the mechanism that leads to optimal cellulose fibril organization. In natural systems, tissue growth and development takes place in the presence of inclusions and secondary phases leaving behind characteristic defects and textures, which provide a unique testing ground for the validity of the liquid crystal self-assembly postulate. In this work, a mathematical model, based on the Landau-de Gennes theory of liquid crystals, is used to simulate defect textures arising in the domain of self assembly, due to presence of secondary phases representing plant cells, lumens and pit canals. It is shown that the obtained defect patterns observed in some plant cell walls are those expected from a truly liquid crystalline phase. The analysis reveals the nature and magnitude of the viscoelastic material parameters that lead to observed patterns in plant-based helicoids through directed self-assembly. In addition, the results provide new guidance to develop biomimetic plywoods for structural and functional applications.

  18. Evidence for several dipolar quasi-invariants in liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonin, C. J.; González, C. E.; Segnorile, H. H.; Zamar, R. C.

    2013-10-01

    The quasi-equilibrium states of an observed quantum system involve as many constants of motion as the dimension of the operator basis which spans the blocks of all the degenerate eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian that drives the system dynamics, however, the possibility of observing such quasi-invariants in solid-like spin systems in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is not a strictly exact prediction. The aim of this work is to provide experimental evidence of several quasi-invariants, in the proton NMR of small spin clusters, like nematic liquid crystal molecules, in which the use of thermodynamic arguments is not justified. We explore the spin states prepared with the Jeener-Broekaert pulse sequence by analyzing the time-domain signals yielded by this sequence as a function of the preparation times, in a variety of dipolar networks, solids, and liquid crystals. We observe that the signals can be explained with two dipolar quasi-invariants only within a range of short preparation times, however at longer times liquid crystal signals show an echo-like behaviour whose description requires assuming more quasi-invariants. We study the multiple quantum coherence content of such signals on a basis orthogonal to the z-basis and see that such states involve a significant number of correlated spins. Therefore, we show that the NMR signals within the whole preparation time-scale can only be reconstructed by assuming the occurrence of multiple quasi-invariants which we experimentally isolate.

  19. Effect of elastic constants of liquid crystals in their electro-optical properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parang, Z.; Ghaffary, T.; Gharahbeigi, M. M.

    Recently following the success of the density functional theory (DFT) in obtaining the structure and thermodynamics of homogeneous and inhomogeneous classical systems such as simple fluids, dipolar fluid and binary hard spheres, this theory was also applied to obtain the density profile of a molecular fluid in between hard planar walls by Kalpaxis and Rickayzen. In the theory of molecular fluids, the direct correlation function (DCF) can be used to calculate the equation of state, free energy, phase transition, elastic constants, etc. It is well known that the hard core molecular models play an important role in understanding complex liquids such as liquid crystals. In this paper, a classical fluid of nonspherical molecules is studied. The required homogeneous (DCF) is obtained by solving Orenstein-Zernike (OZ) integral equation numerically. Some of the molecules in the liquid crystals have a sphere shape and this kind of molecular fluid is considered here. The DCF sphere of the molecular fluid is calculated and it will be shown that the results are in good agreement with the pervious works and the results of computer simulation. Finally the electro-optical properties of ellipsoid liquid crystal using DCF of these molecules are calculated.

  20. Stability of equilibrium states in finite samples of smectic C* liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stewart, I W

    2005-01-01

    Equilibrium solutions for a sample of ferroelectric smectic C (SmC*) liquid crystal in the 'bookshelf' geometry under the influence of a tilted electric field will be presented. A linear stability criterion is identified and used to confirm stability for typical materials possessing either positive or negative dielectric anisotropy. The theoretical response times for perturbations to the equilibrium solutions are calculated numerically and found to be consistent with estimates for response times in ferroelectric smectic C liquid crystals reported elsewhere in the literature for non-tilted fields

  1. Thin film polarizer and color filter based on photo-polymerizable nematic liquid crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammadimasoudi, Mohammad; Neyts, Kristiaan; Beeckman, Jeroen

    2015-03-01

    We present a method to fabricate a thin film color filter based on a mixture of photo-polymerizable liquid crystal and chiral dopant. A chiral nematic liquid crystal layer reflects light for a certain wavelength interval Δλ (= Δn.P) with the period and Δn the birefringence of the liquid crystal. The reflection band is determined by the chiral dopant concentration. The bandwidth is limited to 80nm and the reflectance is at most 50% for unpolarized incident light. The thin color filter is interesting for innovative applications like polarizer-free reflective displays, polarization-independent devices, stealth technologies, or smart switchable reflective windows to control solar light and heat. The reflected light has strong color saturation without absorption because of the sharp band edges. A thin film polarizer is developed by using a mixture of photo-polymerizable liquid crystal and color-neutral dye. The fabricated thin film absorbs light that is polarized parallel to the c axis of the LC. The obtained polarization ratio is 80% for a film of only 12 μm. The thin film polarizer and the color filter feature excellent film characteristics without domains and can be detached from the substrate which is useful for e.g. flexible substrates.

  2. Correlation Between Superheated Liquid Fragility And Onset Temperature Of Crystallization For Al-Based Amorphous Alloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guo J.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Amorphous alloys or metallic glasses have attracted significant interest in the materials science and engineering communities due to their unique physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. The viscous flow of amorphous alloys exhibiting high strain rate sensitivity and homogeneous deformation is considered to be an important characteristic in thermoplastic forming processes performed within the supercooled liquid region because it allows superplastic-like deformation behavior. Here, the correlation between the superheated liquid fragility, and the onset temperature of crystallization for Al-based alloys, is investigated. The activation energy for viscous flow of the liquid is also investigated. There is a negative correlation between the parameter of superheated liquid fragility and the onset temperature of crystallization in the same Al-based alloy system. The activation energy decreases as the onset temperature of crystallization increases. This indicates that the stability of a superheated liquid can affect the thermal stability of the amorphous alloy. It also means that a liquid with a large superheated liquid fragility, when rapidly solidified, forms an amorphous alloy with a low thermal stability.

  3. Controlling chirality with helix inversion in cholesteric liquid crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Katsonis, Nathalie Hélène; Lacaze, E.; Ferrarini, A.

    2012-01-01

    The helical organization of cholesteric liquid crystals is omnipresent in living matter. Achieving control over the structure of the cholesteric helix consequently holds great potential for developing stimuli-responsive materials matching the level of sophistication of biological systems. In

  4. A High-Rate, Single-Crystal Model including Phase Transformations, Plastic Slip, and Twinning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Addessio, Francis L. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Theoretical Division; Bronkhorst, Curt Allan [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Theoretical Division; Bolme, Cynthia Anne [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Explosive Science and Shock Physics Division; Brown, Donald William [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division; Cerreta, Ellen Kathleen [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division; Lebensohn, Ricardo A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division; Lookman, Turab [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Theoretical Division; Luscher, Darby Jon [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Theoretical Division; Mayeur, Jason Rhea [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Theoretical Division; Morrow, Benjamin M. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division; Rigg, Paulo A. [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States). Dept. of Physics. Inst. for Shock Physics

    2016-08-09

    An anisotropic, rate-­dependent, single-­crystal approach for modeling materials under the conditions of high strain rates and pressures is provided. The model includes the effects of large deformations, nonlinear elasticity, phase transformations, and plastic slip and twinning. It is envisioned that the model may be used to examine these coupled effects on the local deformation of materials that are subjected to ballistic impact or explosive loading. The model is formulated using a multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient. A plate impact experiment on a multi-­crystal sample of titanium was conducted. The particle velocities at the back surface of three crystal orientations relative to the direction of impact were measured. Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the details of the high-­rate deformation and pursue issues related to the phase transformation for titanium. Simulations using the single crystal model were conducted and compared to the high-­rate experimental data for the impact loaded single crystals. The model was found to capture the features of the experiments.

  5. Hydrogen bonding intermolecular effect on electro-optical response of doped 6PCH nematic liquid crystal with some azo dyes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiani, S.; Zakerhamidi, M. S.; Tajalli, H.

    2016-05-01

    Previous studies on the electro-optical responses of dye-doped liquid crystal have shown that dopant material have a considerable effect on their electro-optical responses. Despite the studies carried out on electro-optical properties of dye-doped liquid crystal, no attention has been paid to study of the interaction and structural effects in this procedure. In this paper, linear dyes and with similar structure were selected as dopants. The only difference in used dyes is the functional groups in their tails. So, doping of these dyes into liquid crystals determines the influence of interaction type on electro-optical behaviours of the doped systems. Therefore, in this work, two aminoazobenzene (;A-dye;: hydrogen bond donor) and dimethyl-aminoazobenzene (;B-dye;) dyes with different compositional percentages in liquid crystal host were used. Electro-optical Kerr behaviour, the pre-transition temperature and third order nonlinear susceptibility were investigated. The obtained results effectively revealed that type of interactions between the dye and liquid crystal is determinative of behavioral difference of doped system, compared to pure liquid crystal. Also, pre-transitional behaviour and thereupon Kerr electro-optical responses were affected by formed interactions into doped systems. In other words, it will be shown that addition of any dopants in liquid crystal, regardless of the nature of interactions, cannot cause appropriate electro-optical responses. In fact, type of dye, nature of interactions between dopant and liquid crystalline host as well as concentration of dye are the key factors in selecting the appropriate liquid crystal and dopant dye.

  6. Polarization and switching properties of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal gratings. I. Theoretical model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutherland, Richard L.

    2002-12-01

    Polarization properties and electro-optical switching behavior of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal (HPDLC) reflection and transmission gratings are studied. A theoretical model is developed that combines anisotropic coupled-wave theory with an elongated liquid-crystal-droplet switching model and includes the effects of a statistical orientational distribution of droplet-symmetry axes. Angle- and polarization-dependent switching behaviors of HPDLC gratings are elucidated, and the effects on dynamic range are described. A new type of electro-optical switching not seen in ordinary polymer-dispersed liquid crystals, to the best of the author's knowledge, is presented and given a physical interpretation. The model provides valuable insight to the physics of these gratings and can be applied to the design of HPDLC holographic optical elements.

  7. Crystal habit prediction - Including the liquid as well as the solid side

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, C.; Ulrich, J. [Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg, Zentrum fuer Ingenieurwissenschaften, Verfahrenstechnik/ TVT, 06099 Halle (Saale) (Germany)

    2012-06-15

    Commercially available methods of morphology prediction utilize molecular dynamics to estimate the crystal growth rates but predominantly consider the solid side. For the extension of these methods to a multi-component solid-liquid system the diffusion coefficient is required. Since, the diffusion coefficient enables the calculation of crystal growth rates and the morphology in presence of additives and solvents. Modeling the diffusion coefficient is achieved by conducting MD on a system consisting of the crystal surface and the liquid phase. The achieved results match very well with the calculated diffusion coefficient (Wilke-Chang). In this case study benzoic acid is used as model substance with water as solvent. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  8. Validation of a Crystal Plasticity Model Using High Energy Diffraction Microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaudoin, A. J.; Obstalecki, M.; Storer, R.; Tayon, W.; Mach, J.; Kenesei, P.; Lienert, U.

    2012-01-01

    High energy diffraction microscopy is used to measure the crystallographic orientation and evolution of lattice strain in an Al Li alloy. The relative spatial arrangement of the several pancake-shaped grains in a tensile sample is determined through in situ and ex situ techniques. A model for crystal plasticity with continuity of lattice spin is posed, where grains are represented by layers in a finite element mesh following the arrangement indicated by experiment. Comparison is drawn between experiment and simulation.

  9. Liquid gallium cooling of silicon crystals in high intensity photon beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smither, R.K.; Forster, G.A.; Bilderback, D.H.

    1988-11-01

    The high-brilliance, insertion-device-based, photon beams of the next generation of synchrotron sources will deliver large thermal loads (1 kW to 10 kW) to the first optical elements. Considering the problems that present synchrotron users are experiencing with beams from recently installed insertion devices, new and improved methods of cooling these first optical elements, particularly when they are diffraction crystals, are clearly needed. A series of finite element calculations were performed to test the efficiency of new cooling geometries and new cooling fluids. The best results were obtained with liquid Ga metal flowing in channels just below the surface of the crystal. Ga was selected because of its good thermal conductivity and thermal capacity, low melting point, high boiling point, low kinetic viscosity, and very low vapor pressure. Its very low vapor pressure, even at elevated temperatures, makes it especially attractive in uhv conditions. A series of experiments were conducted at CHESS in February of 1988 that compared liquid gallium cooled silicon diffraction crystals with water cooled crystals. 2 refs., 16 figs., 1 tab

  10. Geometric methods in the elastic theory of membranes in liquid crystal phases

    CERN Document Server

    Ji Xing Liu; Yu Zhang Xie

    1999-01-01

    This book contains a comprehensive description of the mechanical equilibrium and deformation of membranes as a surface problem in differential geometry. Following the pioneering work by W Helfrich, the fluid membrane is seen as a nematic or smectic - A liquid crystal film and its elastic energy form is deduced exactly from the curvature elastic theory of the liquid crystals. With surface variation the minimization of the energy at fixed osmotical pressure and surface tension gives a completely new surface equation in geometry that involves potential interest in mathematics. The investigations

  11. Stability of equilibrium states in finite samples of smectic C* liquid crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stewart, I W [Department of Mathematics, University of Strathclyde, Livingstone Tower, 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow G1 1XH (United Kingdom)

    2005-03-04

    Equilibrium solutions for a sample of ferroelectric smectic C (SmC*) liquid crystal in the 'bookshelf' geometry under the influence of a tilted electric field will be presented. A linear stability criterion is identified and used to confirm stability for typical materials possessing either positive or negative dielectric anisotropy. The theoretical response times for perturbations to the equilibrium solutions are calculated numerically and found to be consistent with estimates for response times in ferroelectric smectic C liquid crystals reported elsewhere in the literature for non-tilted fields.

  12. Scanning conoscopy measurement of the optical properties of chiral smectic liquid crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bitri, N. [Laboratoire de Physique de la Matiere Molle Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, 2092 El Manar TUNIS (Tunisia); Centre de Recherches Paul Pascal, 115, Av. Albert-Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac (France)], E-mail: bitri@crpp-bordeaux.cnrs.fr; Gharbi, A. [Laboratoire de Physique de la Matiere Molle Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, 2092 El Manar TUNIS (Tunisia); Marcerou, J.P. [Centre de Recherches Paul Pascal, 115, Av. Albert-Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac (France)

    2008-11-30

    We report on a new scanning conoscopic method which, by rotating the sample and analyzing the ellipticity of transmitted light, provides an accurate tool to measure the temperature dependence of the two indices n{sub e}, n{sub o} and of the optical activity for uniaxial liquid crystals. Their determination is useful to give informations about the tilt angle {theta} and the macroscopic helicity in the different phases and then on the structures of the liquid crystal phases. We tested the method with the reference compound (99% S, 1% R)MHPOBC.

  13. HOLOGRAPHIC GRATING RECORDING IN “LYOTROPIC LIQUID CRYSTAL – VIOLOGEN” SYSTEM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanna Bordyuh

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This work presents the results of nonlinear optical experiment run on the samples of lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC with viologen admixtures. During the experiment we obtained dynamic grating recording on bilayered LLC-viologen samples and determined main characteristics of recoded gratings. It was found out that the recording takes place in a thin near-cathode coloured viologen layer. The analysis of kinetics of thermal gratings erasing showed that contribution of a thermal nonlinearity into general diffraction efficiency is negligible small. The last fact is connected with a separation of LLC-viologen samples under the action of an electric field and heat sink into the liquid crystal layer

  14. Applications of thin-film sandwich crystallization platforms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Axford, Danny, E-mail: danny.axford@diamond.ac.uk; Aller, Pierre; Sanchez-Weatherby, Juan; Sandy, James [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom)

    2016-03-24

    Crystallization via sandwiches of thin polymer films is presented and discussed. Examples are shown of protein crystallization in, and data collection from, solutions sandwiched between thin polymer films using vapour-diffusion and batch methods. The crystallization platform is optimal for both visualization and in situ data collection, with the need for traditional harvesting being eliminated. In wells constructed from the thinnest plastic and with a minimum of aqueous liquid, flash-cooling to 100 K is possible without significant ice formation and without any degradation in crystal quality. The approach is simple; it utilizes low-cost consumables but yields high-quality data with minimal sample intervention and, with the very low levels of background X-ray scatter that are observed, is optimal for microcrystals.

  15. The mathematics of instabilities in smectic C liquid crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, D.A

    2001-07-01

    The theoretical effects of applying a magnetic or electric field to samples of smectic A and smectic C{sup *} liquid crystals are studied in this thesis. In Chapter 2 general background material on liquid crystals is introduced as well as the continuum theory which we shall use in subsequent chapters. We consider a planar sample of ferroelectric smectic C{sup *} liquid crystal in Chapter 3, where an electric field is applied perpendicular to the smectic layers. In particular, we obtain an exact solution to a dynamic equation which governs director reorientation (within a sample which is bounded in the z direction) which appears in the literature. We then consider the linear stability of this solution by applying a perturbation, in both space and time, and examine its growth. In Chapter 4 we again consider the stability of a planar sample of ferroelectric smectic C{sup *} when an electric field is applied perpendicular to the smectic planes. However, unlike in Chapter 3, we derive the relevant governing equation. After having introduced the relevant theory, the linear and nonlinear stability of a constant equilibrium state in both finite and infinite domains is examined. We then obtain information upon the relaxation times for each of these cases. The relaxation time gives an indication of how quickly the director relaxes back to equilibrium. The dynamic equation which is derived in Chapter 4 is extended in Chapter 5 to include the effects of lilting the applied electric field. The equilibrium equation which we then obtain is not tractable explicitly due to the form of the sinusoidal nonlinearity which appears in it. We therefore solve a simplified approximating dynamic equation as well as the full sinusoidal nonlinearity case numerically. In both cases the linear stability of the equilibrium solution is examined. Finally, in Chapter 6 we consider the layer deformations in a cylindrical sample of smectic A liquid crystal when a magnetic field is applied across the

  16. The mathematics of instabilities in smectic C liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, D.A.

    2001-01-01

    The theoretical effects of applying a magnetic or electric field to samples of smectic A and smectic C * liquid crystals are studied in this thesis. In Chapter 2 general background material on liquid crystals is introduced as well as the continuum theory which we shall use in subsequent chapters. We consider a planar sample of ferroelectric smectic C * liquid crystal in Chapter 3, where an electric field is applied perpendicular to the smectic layers. In particular, we obtain an exact solution to a dynamic equation which governs director reorientation (within a sample which is bounded in the z direction) which appears in the literature. We then consider the linear stability of this solution by applying a perturbation, in both space and time, and examine its growth. In Chapter 4 we again consider the stability of a planar sample of ferroelectric smectic C * when an electric field is applied perpendicular to the smectic planes. However, unlike in Chapter 3, we derive the relevant governing equation. After having introduced the relevant theory, the linear and nonlinear stability of a constant equilibrium state in both finite and infinite domains is examined. We then obtain information upon the relaxation times for each of these cases. The relaxation time gives an indication of how quickly the director relaxes back to equilibrium. The dynamic equation which is derived in Chapter 4 is extended in Chapter 5 to include the effects of lilting the applied electric field. The equilibrium equation which we then obtain is not tractable explicitly due to the form of the sinusoidal nonlinearity which appears in it. We therefore solve a simplified approximating dynamic equation as well as the full sinusoidal nonlinearity case numerically. In both cases the linear stability of the equilibrium solution is examined. Finally, in Chapter 6 we consider the layer deformations in a cylindrical sample of smectic A liquid crystal when a magnetic field is applied across the circular cross

  17. Asymmetric electrooptic response in a nematic liquid crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dascalu, Constanta [Politechnica University of Bucharest, Bucharest (Romania)

    2001-06-01

    An asymmetric electrooptic response in nematic liquid crystal (LC) has been obtained. The liquid crystal hybrid cell was made by using a standard configuration. One of the ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) electrodes was covered with a surfactant, which induces a homeotropic alignment. The second of the indium tin oxide electrodes was covered by a thin layer of photopolymer, which was previously mixed with an acid, which favours a process of release of protons. Such cations are responsible of electrochemical process in the LC leading to an asymmetric electrooptic response, which depend on the polarity of the applied electric field. This fact is due to an internal field, which change the effective voltage thresholds for the reorientation of the liquid crystal. During the anodic polarization, the optical switching is inhibited because the effective field decreases below the threshold value. On contrary for the opposite polarization the effective field is enough to determine a homeotropic alignment. [Spanish] Se ha obtenido una respuesta electro-optica asimetrica en cristales liquidos neumaticos. La celula hibrida de cristal liquido fue construida utilizando una configuracion estandar. Uno de los electrodos ITO fue cubierto con una pelicula delgada de material organico para inducir una alineacion homeotropa. El otro electrodo ITO fue cubierto con una pelicula delgada de fotopolimero anteriormente mezclada con un acido para favorecer la emision de protones. Estos cationes son responsables del proceso electroquimico en LC, conduciendo a una respuesta electro-optica asimetrica que depende de la polaridad del campo electrico aplicado. Este efecto es originado por un campo interno que cambia el umbral efectivo del voltaje para la reorientacion del cristal liquido. Durante la polarizacion anodica, la conmutacion optica se inhibe debido a que el campo efectivo disminuye abajo del valor del umbral. Por el contrario, para la polarizacion opuesta el campo efectivo es suficiente para

  18. Advances in chemical physics advances in liquid crystals

    CERN Document Server

    Prigogine, Ilya; Vij, Jagdish K

    2009-01-01

    Prigogine and Rice's highly acclaimed series, Advances in Chemical Physics, provides a forum for critical, authoritative reviews of current topics in every area of chemical physics. Edited by J.K. Vij, this volume focuses on recent advances in liquid crystals with significant, up-to-date chapters authored by internationally recognized researchers in the field.

  19. Biaxiality of chiral liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longa, L.; Trebin, H.R.; Fink, W.

    1993-10-01

    Using extended deGennes-Ginzburg-Landau free energy expansion in terms of the anisotropic part of the dielectric tensor field Q αβ (χ) a connection between the phase biaxiality and the stability of various chiral liquid crystalline phases is studied. In particular the cholesteric phase, the cubic Blue Phases and the phases characterized by an icosahedral space group symmetry are analysed in detail. Also a general question concerning the applicability of the mean-field approximation in describing the chiral phases is addressed. By an extensive study of the model over a wide range of the parameters a new class of phenomena, not present in the original deGennes-Ginzburg-Landau model, has been found. These include: a) re-entrant phase transitions between the cholesteric and the cubic blue phases and b) the existence of distinct phases of the same symmetry but of different biaxialities. The phase biaxiality serves here as an extra scalar order parameter. Furthermore, it has been shown that due to the presence of the competing bulk terms in the free energy, the stable phases may acquire a large degree of biaxiality, also in liquid crystalline materials composed of effectively uniaxial molecules. A study of icosahedral space group symmetries gives a partial answer to the question as to whether an icosahedral quasicrystalline liquid could be stabilized in liquid crystals. Although, in general, the stability of icosahedral structures could be enhanced by the extra terms in the free energy no absolutely stable icosahedral phase has been found. (author). 16 refs, 3 figs, 1 tab

  20. Ultrabroadband terahertz spectroscopy of a liquid crystal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vieweg, N.; Fischer, B. M.; Reuter, M.

    2012-01-01

    Liquid crystals (LCs) are becoming increasingly important for applications in the terahertz frequency range. A detailed understanding of the spectroscopic parameters of these materials over a broad frequency range is crucial in order to design customized LC mixtures for improved performance. We p...... show that the spectra are dominated by multiple strong spectral features mainly at frequencies above 4 THz, originating from intramolecular vibrational modes of the weakly LC molecules....

  1. Crystallization of glass-forming liquids: Specific surface energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmelzer, Jürn W. P.; Abyzov, Alexander S.

    2016-01-01

    A generalization of the Stefan-Skapski-Turnbull relation for the melt-crystal specific interfacial energy is developed in terms of the generalized Gibbs approach extending its standard formulation to thermodynamic non-equilibrium states. With respect to crystal nucleation, this relation is required in order to determine the parameters of the critical crystal clusters being a prerequisite for the computation of the work of critical cluster formation. As one of its consequences, a relation for the dependence of the specific surface energy of critical clusters on temperature and pressure is derived applicable for small and moderate deviations from liquid-crystal macroscopic equilibrium states. Employing the Stefan-Skapski-Turnbull relation, general expressions for the size and the work of formation of critical crystal clusters are formulated. The resulting expressions are much more complex as compared to the respective relations obtained via the classical Gibbs theory. Latter relations are retained as limiting cases of these more general expressions for moderate undercoolings. By this reason, the formulated, here, general relations for the specification of the critical cluster size and the work of critical cluster formation give a key for an appropriate interpretation of a variety of crystallization phenomena occurring at large undercoolings which cannot be understood in terms of the Gibbs’ classical treatment.

  2. Angular dependences of the luminescence and density of photon states in a chiral liquid crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Umanskii, B A; Blinov, L M; Palto, S P [A.V. Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federaion (Russian Federation)

    2013-11-30

    Luminescence spectra of a laser dye-doped chiral liquid crystal have been studied in a wide range of angles (up to 60°) to the axis of its helical structure using a semicylindrical quartz prism, which made it possible to observe the shift and evolution of the photonic band gap in response to changes in angle. Using measured spectra and numerical simulation, we calculated the spectral distributions of the density of photon states in such a cholesteric crystal for polarised and unpolarised light, which characterise its structure as that of a chiral one-dimensional photonic crystal. (optics of liquid crystals)

  3. Electrically controlled liquid crystal fiber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corella-Madueño, A.; Reyes, J. Adrián

    2006-08-01

    We consider a cylindrical fiber whose core is a liquid crystal (LC) subject to the action of a low frequency field applied parallel to the axis of the cylinder and having initially the escaped configuration. We find the distorted textures of the nematic inside the cylinder by assuming arbitrary anchoring boundary conditions. In the optical limit we calculate the ray trajectories followed by a low intensity beam along the fiber parametrized by a low frequency electric field. Finally, we calculate exactly the spatial dependence of the transverse magnetic modes distribution in the guide, on the electric field, by using a numerical scheme. We summarize our paper and discuss our results.

  4. Liquid crystal foil for the detection of breast cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biernat, Michał; Trzyna, Marcin; Byszek, Agnieszka; Jaremek, Henryk

    2016-09-01

    Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in females around the world, representing 25.2% of all cancers in women. About 1.7 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide in 2012 with a death rate of about 522,0001,2. The most frequently used methods in breast cancer screening are imaging methods, i.e. ultrasonography and mammography. A common feature of these methods is that they inherently involve the use of expensive and advanced equipment. The development of advanced computer systems allowed for the continuation of research started already in the 1980s3 and the use of contact thermography in breast cancer screening. The physiological basis for the application of thermography in medical imaging diagnostics is the so-called dermothermal effect related to higher metabolism rate around focal neoplastic lesion. This phenomenon can occur on breast surface as localized temperature anomalies4. The device developed by Braster is composed of a detector that works on the basis of thermotropic liquid crystals, image acquisition device and a computer system for image data processing and analysis. Production of the liquid crystal detector was based on a proprietary CLCF technology (Continuous Liquid Crystal Film). In 2014 Braster started feasibility study to prove that there is a potential for artificial intelligence in early breast cancer detection using Braster's proprietary technology. The aim of this study was to develop a computer system, using a client-server architecture, to an automatic interpretation of thermographic pictures created by the Braster devices.

  5. Nematic liquid crystals on sinusoidal channels: the zigzag instability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvestre, Nuno M; Romero-Enrique, Jose M; Telo da Gama, Margarida M

    2017-01-11

    Substrates which are chemically or topographically patterned induce a variety of liquid crystal textures. The response of the liquid crystal to competing surface orientations, typical of patterned substrates, is determined by the anisotropy of the elastic constants and the interplay of the relevant lengths scales, such as the correlation length and the surface geometrical parameters. Transitions between different textures, usually with different symmetries, may occur under a wide range of conditions. We use the Landau-de Gennes free energy to investigate the texture of nematics in sinusoidal channels with parallel anchoring bounded by nematic-air interfaces that favour perpendicular (hometropic) anchoring. In micron size channels 5CB was observed to exhibit a non-trivial texture characterized by a disclination line, within the channel, which is broken into a zigzag pattern. Our calculations reveal that when the elastic anisotropy of the nematic does not favour twist distortions the defect is a straight disclination line that runs along the channel, which breaks into a zigzag pattern with a characteristic period, when the twist elastic constant becomes sufficiently small when compared to the splay and bend constants. The transition occurs through a twist instability that drives the defect line to rotate from its original position. The interplay between the energetically favourable twist distortions that induce the defect rotation and the liquid crystal anchoring at the surfaces leads to the zigzag pattern. We investigate in detail the dependence of the periodicity of the zigzag pattern on the geometrical parameters of the sinusoidal channels, which in line with the experimental results is found to be non-linear.

  6. Static and dynamic continuum theory liquid crystals a mathematical introduction

    CERN Document Server

    Stewart, Iain W

    2004-01-01

    Providing a rigorous, clear and accessible text for graduate students regardless of scientific background, this text introduces the basic continuum theory for nematic liquid crystals in equilibria, and details its various simple applications.

  7. A thermomechanical crystal plasticity constitutive model for ultrasonic consolidation

    KAUST Repository

    Siddiq, Amir

    2012-01-01

    We present a micromechanics-based thermomechanical constitutive model to simulate the ultrasonic consolidation process. Model parameters are calibrated using an inverse modeling approach. A comparison of the simulated response and experimental results for uniaxial tests validate and verify the appropriateness of the proposed model. Moreover, simulation results of polycrystalline aluminum using the identified crystal plasticity based material parameters are compared qualitatively with the electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) results reported in the literature. The validated constitutive model is then used to simulate the ultrasonic consolidation process at sub-micron scale where an effort is exerted to quantify the underlying micromechanisms involved during the ultrasonic consolidation process. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Liquid crystal designs for high-contrast field sequential color liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) microdisplays (Invited Paper)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, James; Chen, Cheng; Bos, Philip J.

    2005-04-01

    Single or dual panel microdisplay systems are becoming more popular in the marketplace. Consequently, Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) microdisplays are constantly being pushed to achieve faster switching times as well as higher contrast, while becoming simpler and allowing simpler optics engine design. Currently, most products use a Twisted Nematic (TN) mode with a retardation film. The most promising solution in research now is the Vertically Aligned Nematic (VAN) mode, which does not require a retarder.

  9. Neutron scattering studies of molecular conformations in liquid crystal polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noirez, L.; Moussa, F.; Cotton, J. P.; Keller, P.; Pépy, G.

    1991-03-01

    A comblike liquid crystal polymer (LPC) is a polymer on which mesogenic molecules have been grafted. It exhibits a succession of liquid crystal phases. Usually the equilibrium conformation of an ordinary polymeric chain corresponds to a maximum entropy, i.e., to an isotropic spherical coil. How does the backbone of a LCP behave in the nematic and smectic field? Small-angle neutron scattering may answer this question. Such measurements are presented here on four different polymers as a function of temperature. An anisotropy of the backbone conformation is found in all these studied compounds, much more pronounced in the smectic phase than in the nematic phase: the backbone spreads more or less perpendicularly to its hanging cores. A comparison with existing theories and a discussion of these results is outlined.

  10. New methods of highly efficient controlled generation of radiation by liquid crystal nanostructures in a wide spectral range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bagayev, S N; Klementyev, V M; Nyushkov, B N; Pivtsov, V S; Trashkeev, S I

    2012-01-01

    We report the recent results of research focused on a new kind of soft matter-the liquid-crystal nanocomposites with controllable mechanical and nonlinear optical properties. These are promising media for implementation of ultra-compact photonic devices and efficient sources of coherent radiation in a wide spectral range. We overview the technology of preparation of nematic-liquid-crystal media saturated with disclination defects. The defects were formed in different ways: by embedding nanoparticles and molecular objects, by exposure to alpha-particle flux. The defect locations were controlled by applying an electric field. We also present and discuss the recently discovered features of nematic-liquid-crystal media: a thermal orientation effect leading to the fifth-order optical nonlinearity, enormous second-order susceptibility revealed by measurements, and structural changes upon exposure to laser radiation. We report on efficient generation of harmonics, sum and difference optical frequencies in nematic-liquid-crystal media. In addition, transformation of laser radiation spectra to spectral supercontinua, and filamentation of laser beams were also observed in nematic-liquid-crystal media. We conclude that most nonlinear optical effects result from changes of the orientational order in the examined nematic liquid crystals. These changes lead to the symmetry breaking and disclination appearances.

  11. Loop Mirror Laser Neural Network with a Fast Liquid-Crystal Display

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mos, Evert C.; Schleipen, Jean J. H. B.; de Waardt, Huug; Khoe, Djan G. D.

    1999-07-01

    In our laser neural network (LNN) all-optical threshold action is obtained by application of controlled optical feedback to a laser diode. Here an extended experimental LNN is presented with as many as 32 neurons and 12 inputs. In the setup we use a fast liquid-crystal display to implement an optical matrix vector multiplier. This display, based on ferroelectric liquid-crystal material, enables us to present 125 training examples s to the LNN. To maximize the optical feedback efficiency of the setup, a loop mirror is introduced. We use a -rule learning algorithm to train the network to perform a number of functions toward the application area of telecommunication data switching.

  12. Dynamics of topological solitons, knotted streamlines, and transport of cargo in liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sohn, Hayley R. O.; Ackerman, Paul J.; Boyle, Timothy J.; Sheetah, Ghadah H.; Fornberg, Bengt; Smalyukh, Ivan I.

    2018-05-01

    Active colloids and liquid crystals are capable of locally converting the macroscopically supplied energy into directional motion and promise a host of new applications, ranging from drug delivery to cargo transport at the mesoscale. Here we uncover how topological solitons in liquid crystals can locally transform electric energy to translational motion and allow for the transport of cargo along directions dependent on frequency of the applied electric field. By combining polarized optical video microscopy and numerical modeling that reproduces both the equilibrium structures of solitons and their temporal evolution in applied fields, we uncover the physical underpinnings behind this reconfigurable motion and study how it depends on the structure and topology of solitons. We show that, unexpectedly, the directional motion of solitons with and without the cargo arises mainly from the asymmetry in rotational dynamics of molecular ordering in liquid crystal rather than from the asymmetry of fluid flows, as in conventional active soft matter systems.

  13. Liquid phase solvent bonding of plastic microfluidic devices assisted by retention grooves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Alwin M D; Sadri, Amir; Young, Edmond W K

    2015-01-01

    We report a novel method for achieving consistent liquid phase solvent bonding of plastic microfluidic devices via the use of retention grooves at the bonding interface. The grooves are patterned during the regular microfabrication process, and can be placed at the periphery of a device, or surrounding microfluidic features with open ports, where they effectively mitigate solvent evaporation, and thus substantially reduce poor bond coverage. This method is broadly applicable to a variety of plastics and solvents, and produces devices with high bond quality (i.e., coverage, strength, and microfeature fidelity) that are suitable for studies in physics, chemistry, and cell biology at the microscale.

  14. Crystal plasticity finite element analysis of deformation behaviour in SAC305 solder joint

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darbandi, Payam

    Due to the awareness of the potential health hazards associated with the toxicity of lead (Pb), actions have been taken to eliminate or reduce the use of Pb in consumer products. Among those, tin (Sn) solders have been used for the assembly of electronic systems. Anisotropy is of significant importance in all structural metals, but this characteristic is unusually strong in Sn, making Sn based solder joints one of the best examples of the influence of anisotropy. The effect of anisotropy arising from the crystal structure of tin and large grain microstructure on the microstructure and the evolution of constitutive responses of microscale SAC305 solder joints is investigated. Insights into the effects of key microstructural features and dominant plastic deformation mechanisms influencing the measured relative activity of slip systems in SAC305 are obtained from a combination of optical microscopy, orientation imaging microscopy (OIM), slip plane trace analysis and crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) modeling. Package level SAC305 specimens were subjected to shear deformation in sequential steps and characterized using optical microscopy and OIM to identify the activity of slip systems. X-ray micro Laue diffraction and high energy monochromatic X-ray beam were employed to characterize the joint scale tensile samples to provide necessary information to be able to compare and validate the CPFE model. A CPFE model was developed that can account for relative ease of activating slip systems in SAC305 solder based upon the statistical estimation based on correlation between the critical resolved shear stress and the probability of activating various slip systems. The results from simulations show that the CPFE model developed using the statistical analysis of activity of slip system not only can satisfy the requirements associated with kinematic of plastic deformation in crystal coordinate systems (activity of slip systems) and global coordinate system (shape changes

  15. Liquid-metal-cooled, curved-crystal monochromator for Advanced Photon Source bending-magnet beamline 1-BM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brauer, S.; Rodricks, B.; Assoufid, L.; Beno, M.A.; Knapp, G.S.

    1996-06-01

    The authors describe a horizontally focusing curved-crystal monochromator that invokes a 4-point bending scheme and a liquid-metal cooling bath. The device has been designed for dispersive diffraction and spectroscopy in the 5--20 keV range, with a predicted focal spot size of ≤ 100 microm. To minimize thermal distortions and thermal equilibration time, the 355 x 32 x 0.8 mm crystal will be nearly half submerged in a bath of Ga-In-Sn-Zn alloy. The liquid metal thermally couples the crystal to the water-cooled Cu frame, while permitting the required crystal bending. Calculated thermal profiles and anticipated focusing properties are discussed

  16. Light-emitting liquid-crystal displays constructed from AIE luminogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Dongyu; Qin, Anjun; Tang, Ben Zhong; Leung, Chris Wai Tung

    2014-10-01

    Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are widely used for diverse purposes in many aspects in daily life from handle personal devices to professional applications and large-panel LCD televisions. Since LCD is a passive emission display device, it usually shows narrow viewing angle and reduced brightness. Nowadays, LCDs with light-emitting properties is suggested as a less energy consuming displays. To date, fluorescent materials with dichroic properties and strong fluorescence emission are required. However, many molecular emitters, which are highly efficient in solution, will suffer from heavy aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect in the aggregate state, which has greatly limited their applications. In order to overcome these weaknesses, we have designed and synthesized a novel luminescent liquid crystalline compound consisting of a tetraphenylethene (TPE) core, TPE-PPE, as a luminogen with mesogenic moieties. As a result, the TPE-PPE exhibits both the aggregate-induced emission (AIE) and thermotropic liquid crystalline characteristics. By dissolving 1 weight% (wt%) of TPE-PPE into the nematic LC host PA0182, a linearly polarized emission was obtained on the unidirectional orientated LC cell. The photoluminescence polarization ratio of the LC cell has reached to 4.16 between the directions perpendicular and parallel to the rubbing direction. Utilizing the emissive anisotropic TPE-PPE, we have fabricated the photoluminescent liquid crystal display (PL-LCD). This approach has simplified the device design, lowered the energy consumption and increased brightness of the LCD.

  17. Two-Dimensional Spatial Solitons in Nematic Liquid Crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong Weiping; Xie Ruihua; Goong Chen; Belic, Milivoj; Yang Zhengping

    2009-01-01

    We study the propagation of spatial solitons in nematic liquid crystals, using the self-similar method. Analytical solutions in the form of self-similar solitons are obtained exactly. We confirm the stability of these solutions by direct numerical simulation, and find that the stable spatial solitons can exist in various forms, such as Gaussian solitons, radially symmetric solitons, multipole solitons, and soliton vortices.

  18. Surface dynamics and mechanics in liquid crystal polymer coatings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, D.; Broer, D.J.; Chien, L.-C.; Coles, H.J.; Kikuchi, H.; Smalyukh, I.I.

    2015-01-01

    Based on liquid crystal networks we developed 'smart' coatings with responsive surface topographies. Either by prepatterning or by the formation of self-organized structures they can be switched on and off in a pre-designed manner. Here we provide an overview of our methods to generate coatings that

  19. Tunable single photonic defect-mode in cholesteric liquid crystals with laser-induced local modifications of helix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Lee, Chee Heng; Fujii, Akihiko; Ozaki, Masanori

    2006-01-01

    The authors demonstrate a tunable single photonic defect-mode in a single cholesteric liquid crystal material based on a structural defect introduced by local modification of the helix. An unpolymerized region of cholesteric liquid crystal acting as the defect was left between two polymerized regions via a two-photon excitation laser-lithography process. Upon polymerization, the cholesteric liquid crystal helix elongated and became thermally stable, and a single photonic defect mode was exhibited due to the contrast in the helix pitch at the defect. The defect mode showed tunability upon heating, and a 36 nm redshift was seen over a temperature range of 30 deg. C

  20. Angular selectivity asymmetry of holograms recorded in near infrared sensitive liquid crystal photopolymerizable materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harbour, Steven; Galstian, Tigran; Akopyan, Rafik; Galstyan, Artur

    2004-08-01

    We have experimentally observed and theoretically explained the angular selectivity asymmetry in polymer dispersed liquid crystal holograms. Experiments are conducted in compounds with near infrared sensitivity. The coupled-wave theory is used to describe the diffraction properties of obtained anisotropic holographic gratings. Furthermore, the comparison of theory and experiments provides information about the optical axis direction that is defined by the average molecular orientation of the liquid crystal in the polymer matrix.

  1. Crystal plasticity in presence of great deformations and damages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Musienko, A.

    2005-03-01

    This work addresses several problems in the framework of crystal plasticity. Its main motivation is the development of a coupled approach able to account for the interaction between environment, inelastic deformation and damage in a zircaloy alloy used for the cladding tubes in nuclear power plants. A first study was previously made by O. Diard on the same subject, and a preliminary numerical procedure was developed for performing the simulation. Our purpose was to improve this first attempt, and to reach a quantitative agreement with the experimental data. The main modification to the initial model is a new geometrical representation of the 'grain boundary'. In fact, instead of having a special material for the grain boundary, we introduce a specific zone in each grain near the grain boundary. In this area, we still have the normal slip systems, corresponding to the grain it belongs to, but also specific systems to allow the boundary to slip and open. The resulting model (DOS) successfully represents damage, opening and sliding, and can be calibrated using experimental information on tubes submitted to complex load histories. A finite strain formulation is also provided. Finally, a model describing cleavage is in competition with intergranular damage, so that we are able to predict the transition from intergranular to transgranular cracking. These new features are implemented using a robust integration algorithm in the finite element code Zebulon. A simulation of stress corrosion cracking of Zircaloy tubes in iodine environment (which appears as a result of pellet-cladding interaction in the core of nuclear pressurized-water reactors) is proposed. The predictions of the model are in good agreement with the experimental data describing the crack propagation rate. The following points are obtained as sub-products of the study: 1)Elasticity, J2 plasticity, crystal plasticity, and the DOS model are successively studied, in the framework of small perturbation and large

  2. Directed self-assembly of liquid crystalline blue-phases into ideal single-crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-González, Jose A.; Li, Xiao; Sadati, Monirosadat; Zhou, Ye; Zhang, Rui; Nealey, Paul F.; de Pablo, Juan J.

    2017-06-01

    Chiral nematic liquid crystals are known to form blue phases--liquid states of matter that exhibit ordered cubic arrangements of topological defects. Blue-phase specimens, however, are generally polycrystalline, consisting of randomly oriented domains that limit their performance in applications. A strategy that relies on nano-patterned substrates is presented here for preparation of stable, macroscopic single-crystal blue-phase materials. Different template designs are conceived to exert control over different planes of the blue-phase lattice orientation with respect to the underlying substrate. Experiments are then used to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to create stable single-crystal blue-phase domains with the desired orientation over large regions. These results provide a potential avenue to fully exploit the electro-optical properties of blue phases, which have been hindered by the existence of grain boundaries.

  3. A Cosserat crystal plasticity and phase field theory for grain boundary migration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ask, Anna; Forest, Samuel; Appolaire, Benoit; Ammar, Kais; Salman, Oguz Umut

    2018-06-01

    The microstructure evolution due to thermomechanical treatment of metals can largely be described by viscoplastic deformation, nucleation and grain growth. These processes take place over different length and time scales which present significant challenges when formulating simulation models. In particular, no overall unified field framework exists to model concurrent viscoplastic deformation and recrystallization and grain growth in metal polycrystals. In this work a thermodynamically consistent diffuse interface framework incorporating crystal viscoplasticity and grain boundary migration is elaborated. The Kobayashi-Warren-Carter (KWC) phase field model is extended to incorporate the full mechanical coupling with material and lattice rotations and evolution of dislocation densities. The Cosserat crystal plasticity theory is shown to be the appropriate framework to formulate the coupling between phase field and mechanics with proper distinction between bulk and grain boundary behaviour.

  4. On Regularity Criteria for the Two-Dimensional Generalized Liquid Crystal Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanan Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We establish the regularity criteria for the two-dimensional generalized liquid crystal model. It turns out that the global existence results satisfy our regularity criteria naturally.

  5. Correlation between relaxations and plastic deformation, and elastic model of flow in metallic glasses and glass-forming liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Weihua

    2011-01-01

    We study the similarity and correlations between relaxations and plastic deformation in metallic glasses (MGs) and MG-forming liquids. It is shown that the microscope plastic events, the initiation and formation of shear bands, and the mechanical yield in MGs where the atomic sites are topologically unstable induced by applied stress, can be treated as the glass to supercooled liquid state transition induced by external shear stress. On the other hand, the glass transition, the primary and secondary relaxations, plastic deformation and yield can be attributed to the free volume increase induced flow, and the flow can be modeled as the activated hopping between the inherent states in the potential energy landscape. We then propose an extended elastic model to describe the flow based on the energy landscape theory. That is, the flow activation energy density is linear proportional to the instantaneous elastic moduli, and the activation energy density ρ E is determined to be a simple expression of ρ E =(10/11)G+(1/11)K. The model indicates that both shear and bulk moduli are critical parameters accounting for both the homogeneous and inhomogeneous flows in MGs and MG-forming liquids. The elastic model is experimentally certified. We show that the elastic perspectives offers a simple scenario for the flow in MGs and MG-forming liquids and are suggestive for understanding the glass transition, plastic deformation, and nature and characteristics of MGs

  6. Dynamics of cylindrical domain walls in smectic C liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stewart, I W; Wigham, E J

    2009-01-01

    An analysis of the dynamics of cylindrical domain walls in planar aligned samples of smectic C liquid crystals is presented. A circular magnetic field, induced by an electric current, drives a time-dependent reorientation of the corresponding radially dependent director field. Nonlinear approximations to the relevant nonlinear dynamic equation, derived from smectic continuum theory, are solved in a comoving coordinated frame: exact solutions are found for a π-wall and numerical solutions are calculated for π/2-walls. Each calculation begins with an assumed initial state for the director that is a prescribed cylindrical domain wall. Such an initial wall will proceed to expand or contract as its central core propagates radially inwards or outwards, depending on the boundary conditions for the director, the elastic constants, the magnitude of the field and the sign of the magnetic anisotropy of the liquid crystal

  7. A numerical method for eigenvalue problems in modeling liquid crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baglama, J.; Farrell, P.A.; Reichel, L.; Ruttan, A. [Kent State Univ., OH (United States); Calvetti, D. [Stevens Inst. of Technology, Hoboken, NJ (United States)

    1996-12-31

    Equilibrium configurations of liquid crystals in finite containments are minimizers of the thermodynamic free energy of the system. It is important to be able to track the equilibrium configurations as the temperature of the liquid crystals decreases. The path of the minimal energy configuration at bifurcation points can be computed from the null space of a large sparse symmetric matrix. We describe a new variant of the implicitly restarted Lanczos method that is well suited for the computation of extreme eigenvalues of a large sparse symmetric matrix, and we use this method to determine the desired null space. Our implicitly restarted Lanczos method determines adoptively a polynomial filter by using Leja shifts, and does not require factorization of the matrix. The storage requirement of the method is small, and this makes it attractive to use for the present application.

  8. 1,2,4-Triazolium perfluorobutanesulfonate as an archetypal pure protic organic ionic plastic crystal electrolyte for all-solid-state fuel cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Luo, Jiangshui; Jensen, Annemette Hindhede; Brooks, Neil R.

    2015-01-01

    1,2,4-Triazolium perfluorobutanesulfonate (1), a novel, pure protic organic ionic plastic crystal (POIPC) with a wide plastic crystalline phase, has been explored as a proof-of-principle anhydrous proton conductor for all-solid-state high temperature hydrogen/air fuel cells. Its physicochemical p...

  9. Neutron scattering experiments of the ionic crystal deformed plastically with uniaxial compression under high temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsuchiya, Yoshinori; Minakawa, Nobuaki; Aizawa, Kazuya; Ozawa, Kunio [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1996-04-01

    As an aim of huge growth of alkali halide (AH) single crystal, a mosaic structure of small size AH single crystal deformed plastically with uniaxial compression under high temperature was evaluated due to its neutron irradiation experiment. Using TAS-2 installed at JRR-3M guide hole of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, locking curve at a representative face factor of the specimen was measured to observe the mosaic structure accompanied with expansion of the crystal due to compression. As a result, though the specimen before compression could be supposed to be divided to some parts already, the locking curve under 10 sec. of compression time showed already some fracture to divisions to suppose finer degradation of the crystal, and division of the locking curve at 600 sec. of compression time could be observed onto its 220 face. And, every compressed specimens showed some changes of crystallization method from standard sample. (G.K.)

  10. Liquid crystal elastomer coatings with programmed response of surface profile

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Babakhanova, G.; Turiv, T.; Guo, Y.; Hendrikx, M.; Wei, Q.H.; Schenning, A.P.H.J.; Broer, D.J.; Lavrentovich, O.D.

    2018-01-01

    Stimuli-responsive liquid crystal elastomers with molecular orientation coupled to rubber-like elasticity show a great potential as elements in soft robotics, sensing, and transport systems. The orientational order defines their mechanical response to external stimuli, such as thermally activated

  11. Liquid crystal europium(III) β-diketonato complex with 5,5'-di(heptadecyl)-2,2'-bipyridine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knyazev, A.A.; Lobkov, V.S.; Galyametdinov, Yu.G.

    2004-01-01

    Liquid crystal europium(III) complex containing β-diketone and 5,5-di(heptadecyl)-2,2'-bipyridine as ligands was prepared in ethanol solution and was isolated as a yellow precipitate with 62% yield. The product was characterized by data of elementary analysis, thermography, IR spectroscopy and luminescence spectra. Temperatures of crystal-mesophase and mesophase-isotropic liquid phase transitions amount to 95 and 130 Deg C respectively [ru

  12. Theoretical study of the slow neutron coherent scattering by nemanic liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sugakov, V.I.; Shiyanovskij, S.V.

    1982-01-01

    An exact expression is obtained for neutron coherent quasielastic scattering cross section in nematic liquid crystals. Expressions are analyzed or big and small values of scattering wave vector. In the first case scattering is occured on the separate molecules and the account of the molecule form noncylindricity is to be essential. In the second case an intermolecular correlations contribute greatly to cross sections. A connection is found for pair correlation function with fluctuation for density, dipole moment and order parameters. The performed cross section analysis allow to determine the significant microscopic parameters of the nematic liquid crystal from the experimental data of slow neutron scattering

  13. High-resolution bistable nematic liquid crystal device realized on orientational surface patterns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jong-Hyun; Yoneya, Makoto; Yokoyama, Hiroshi

    2003-01-01

    The four-fold symmetry of a checkerboard-like surface alignment consisted of square domains arrived at the macroscopic orientational bistability of nematic liquid crystals. Switching between the two orientations took place with an appropriate electric field. Here the threshold field of bistable switching decreased as temperature increased, and the light could heat only the selected region in the cell including a light-absorbing medium. Irradiating the laser concurrently with an electric field, we addressed a selected region in the alignment pattern without the disturbance of neighboring regions. Extending this process, we realized an extremely fine bistable device of nematic liquid crystal with a pixel size down to about 2 μm

  14. A finite element beam propagation method for simulation of liquid crystal devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanbrabant, Pieter J M; Beeckman, Jeroen; Neyts, Kristiaan; James, Richard; Fernandez, F Anibal

    2009-06-22

    An efficient full-vectorial finite element beam propagation method is presented that uses higher order vector elements to calculate the wide angle propagation of an optical field through inhomogeneous, anisotropic optical materials such as liquid crystals. The full dielectric permittivity tensor is considered in solving Maxwell's equations. The wide applicability of the method is illustrated with different examples: the propagation of a laser beam in a uniaxial medium, the tunability of a directional coupler based on liquid crystals and the near-field diffraction of a plane wave in a structure containing micrometer scale variations in the transverse refractive index, similar to the pixels of a spatial light modulator.

  15. Increasing the rewriting speed of optical rewritable e-paper by selecting proper liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geng Yu; Sun Jiatong; Kwok Hoi Sing; Murauski Anatoli; Chigrinov Vladimir

    2012-01-01

    The effect of interaction between liquid crystal (LC) and photoalignment material on the speed of optical rewriting process is investigated. The theoretical analysis shows that a smaller frank elastic constant K 22 of liquid crystal corresponds to a larger twist angle, which gives rise to a larger rewriting speed. Six different LC cells with the same boundary conditions (one substrate is covered with rubbed polyimide (PI) and the other with photo sensitive rewritable sulfuric dye 1(SD1)) are tested experimentally under the same illumination intensity (450 nm, 80 mW/cm 2 ). The results demonstrate that with a suitable liquid crystal, the LC optical rewriting speed for e-paper application can be obviously improved. For two well known LC materials E7 (K 22 is larger) and 5CB (K 22 is smaller), they require 11 s and 6 s corresponding to change alignment direction for generating image information. (general)

  16. Tunable diffraction and self-defocusing in liquid-filled photonic crystal fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rosberg, Christian Romer; Bennet, Francis H.; Neshev, Dragomir N.

    2007-01-01

    We suggest and demonstrate a novel platform for the study of tunable nonlinear light propagation in two-dimensional discrete systems, based on photonic crystal fibers filled with high index nonlinear liquids. Using the infiltrated cladding region of a photonic crystal fiber as a nonlinear waveguide...... array, we experimentally demonstrate highly tunable beam diffraction and thermal self-defocusing, and realize a compact all-optical power limiter based on a tunable nonlinear response....

  17. Electromagnetic numerical characterization of the laser-induced liquid crystal lens by finite-difference time domain method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morisaki, T.; Ono, H.

    2005-01-01

    A laser-induced liquid-crystal lens is formed by large optical non-linearity and anisotropic complex refractive indices in guest-host liquid crystals. We obtained light wave propagation characteristics of the laser-induced LC lens. Three analytical methods were used to obtain light wave propagation characteristics. Analysis by 3-dimensional heat conduction was applied to determine the refractive index in the liquid-crystal layer. Another method used was to determine light wave propagation characteristics in the laser-induced lens by means of the finite-difference tune domain (FDTD) method and diffraction theory. In this study, we draw a parallel between the experimental results and FDTD. Copyright (2003) AD-TECH - International Foundation for the Advancement of Technology Ltd

  18. Ultra-high tunable liquid crystal-plasmonic photonic crystal fiber polarization filter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hameed, Mohamed Farhat O; Heikal, A M; Younis, B M; Abdelrazzak, Maher; Obayya, S S A

    2015-03-23

    A novel ultra-high tunable photonic crystal fiber (PCF) polarization filter is proposed and analyzed using finite element method. The suggested design has a central hole infiltrated with a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) that offers high tunability with temperature and external electric field. Moreover, the PCF is selectively filled with metal wires into cladding air holes. Results show that the resonance losses and wavelengths are different in x and y polarized directions depending on the rotation angle φ of the NLC. The reported filter of compact device length 0.5 mm can achieve 600 dB / cm resonance losses at φ = 90° for x-polarized mode at communication wavelength of 1300 mm with low losses of 0.00751 dB / cm for y-polarized mode. However, resonance losses of 157.71 dB / cm at φ = 0° can be achieved for y-polarized mode at the same wavelength with low losses of 0.092 dB / cm for x-polarized mode.

  19. Conductive Hybrid Crystal Composed from Polyoxomolybdate and Deprotonatable Ionic-Liquid Surfactant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Kobayashi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A polyoxomolybdate inorganic-organic hybrid crystal was synthesized with deprotonatable ionic-liquid surfactant. 1-dodecylimidazolium cation was employed for its synthesis. The hybrid crystal contained δ-type octamolybdate (Mo8 isomer, and possessed alternate stacking of Mo8 monolayers and interdigitated surfactant bilayers. The crystal structure was compared with polyoxomolybdate hybrid crystals comprising 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium surfactant, which preferred β-type Mo8 isomer. The less bulky hydrophilic moiety of the 1-dodecylimidazolium interacted with the δ-Mo8 anion by N–H···O hydrogen bonds, which presumably induced the formation of the δ-Mo8 anion. Anhydrous conductivity of the hybrid crystal was estimated to be 5.5 × 10−6 S·cm−1 at 443 K by alternating current (AC impedance spectroscopy.

  20. Self-Assembled Supramolecular Architectures Lyotropic Liquid Crystals

    CERN Document Server

    Garti, Nissim

    2012-01-01

    This book will describe fundamentals and recent developments in the area of Self-Assembled Supramolecular Architecture and their relevance to the  understanding of the functionality of  membranes  as delivery systems for active ingredients. As the heirarchial architectures determine their performance capabilities, attention will be paid to theoretical and design aspects related to the construction of lyotropic liquid crystals: mesophases such as lamellar, hexagonal, cubic, sponge phase micellosomes. The book will bring to the reader mechanistic aspects, compositional c

  1. Controlling statics and dynamics of colloids by photo-patterned liquid crystals (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavrentovich, Oleg D.; Peng, Chenhui; Guo, Yubing; Shiyanovskii, Sergij V.; Wei, Qi-Huo

    2016-09-01

    Transport of fluids and particles at the microscale is an important theme both in fundamental and applied science. We demonstrate how an advanced approach to photo-induced alignment of liquid crystals can be used to generate nonlinear electrokinetics. The photoalignment technique is based on irradiation of a photosensitive substrate with light through nanoaperture arrays in metal films. The resulting pattern of surface alignment induces predesigned 2D and 3D distortions of local molecular orientation. In presence of a static electric field, these distortions generate spatial charge and drive electrokinetic flows of the new type, in which the velocities depend on the square of the applied electric field. The patterned liquid crystal electrolyte converts the electric energy into the flows and transport of embedded particles of any type (fluid, solid, gaseous) along a predesigned trajectory, posing no limitation on the electric nature (charge, polarizability) of these particles and interfaces. The patterned liquid crystal electrolyte induces persistent vortices of controllable rotation speed and direction that are quintessential for micro- and nanoscale mixing applications.

  2. A study of gradient strengthening based on a finite-deformation gradient crystal-plasticity model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pouriayevali, Habib; Xu, Bai-Xiang

    2017-11-01

    A comprehensive study on a finite-deformation gradient crystal-plasticity model which has been derived based on Gurtin's framework (Int J Plast 24:702-725, 2008) is carried out here. This systematic investigation on the different roles of governing components of the model represents the strength of this framework in the prediction of a wide range of hardening behaviors as well as rate-dependent and scale-variation responses in a single crystal. The model is represented in the reference configuration for the purpose of numerical implementation and then implemented in the FEM software ABAQUS via a user-defined subroutine (UEL). Furthermore, a function of accumulation rates of dislocations is employed and viewed as a measure of formation of short-range interactions. Our simulation results reveal that the dissipative gradient strengthening can be identified as a source of isotropic-hardening behavior, which may represent the effect of irrecoverable work introduced by Gurtin and Ohno (J Mech Phys Solids 59:320-343, 2011). Here, the variation of size dependency at different magnitude of a rate-sensitivity parameter is also discussed. Moreover, an observation of effect of a distinctive feature in the model which explains the effect of distortion of crystal lattice in the reference configuration is reported in this study for the first time. In addition, plastic flows in predefined slip systems and expansion of accumulation of GNDs are distinctly observed in varying scales and under different loading conditions.

  3. Domain Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystals on a Polycarbonate Surface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasily F. Shabanov

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Alignment of nematic liquid crystals on polycarbonate films obtained with the use of solvents with different solvations is studied. Domain structures occurring during the growth on the polymer surface against the background of the initial thread-like or schlieren texture are demonstrated. It is established by optical methods that the domains are stable formations visualizing the polymer surface structures. In nematic droplets, the temperature-induced transition from the domain structure with two extinction bands to the structure with four bands is observed. This transition is shown to be caused by reorientation of the nematic director in the liquid crystal volume from the planar alignment to the homeotropic state with the pronounced radial configuration of nematic molecules on the surface. The observed textures are compared with different combinations of the volume LC orientations and the radial distribution of the director field and the disclination lines at the polycarbonate surface.

  4. Electrically Tunable Reflective Terahertz Phase Shifter Based on Liquid Crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jun; Xia, Tianyu; Jing, Shuaicheng; Deng, Guangsheng; Lu, Hongbo; Fang, Yong; Yin, Zhiping

    2018-02-01

    We present a reflective spatial phase shifter which operates at terahertz regime above 325 GHz. The controllable permittivity of the nematic liquid crystals was utilized to realize a tunable terahertz (THz) reflective phase shifter. The reflective characteristics of the terahertz electromagnetic waves and the liquid crystal parameters were calculated and analyzed. We provide the simulation results for the effect of the incident angle of the plane wave on the reflection. The experiment was carried out considering an array consisting of 30 × 30 patch elements, printed on a 20 × 20 mm quartz substrate with 1-mm thickness. The phase shifter provides a tunable phase range of 300° over the frequency range of 325 to 337.6 GHz. The maximum phase shift of 331° is achieved at 330 GHz. The proposed phase shifter is a potential candidate for THz applications, particularly for reconfigurable reflectarrays.

  5. Near-diffraction-limited and low-haze electro-optical tunable liquid crystal lens with floating electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Liwei; Bryant, Doug; Van Heugten, Tony; Bos, Philip J

    2013-04-08

    A near-diffraction-limited, low-haze and tunable liquid crystal (LC) lens is presented. Building on an understanding of the key factors that have limited the performance of lenses based on liquid crystals, we show a simple design whose optical quality is similar to a high quality glass lens. It uses 'floating' electrodes to provide a smooth, controllable applied potential profile across the aperture to manage the phase profile.

  6. Lead(ii) soaps: crystal structures, polymorphism, and solid and liquid mesophases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Casado, F J; Ramos-Riesco, M; Rodríguez-Cheda, J A; Redondo-Yélamos, M I; Garrido, L; Fernández-Martínez, A; García-Barriocanal, J; da Silva, I; Durán-Olivencia, M; Poulain, A

    2017-07-05

    The long-chain members of the lead(ii) alkanoate series or soaps, from octanoate to octadecanoate, have been thoroughly characterized by means of XRD, PDF analysis, DSC, FTIR, ssNMR and other techniques, in all their phases and mesophases. The crystal structures at room temperature of all of the members of the series are now solved, showing the existence of two polymorphic forms in the room temperature crystal phase, different to short and long-chain members. Only nonanoate and decanoate present both forms, and this polymorphism is proven to be monotropic. At higher temperature, these compounds present a solid mesophase, defined as rotator, a liquid crystal phase and a liquid phase, all of which have a similar local arrangement. Since some lead(ii) soaps appear as degradation compounds in oil paintings, the solved crystal structures of lead(ii) soaps can now be used as fingerprints for their detection using X-ray diffraction. Pair distribution function analysis on these compounds is very similar in the same phases and mesophases for the different members, showing the same short range order. This observation suggests that this technique could also be used in the detection of these compounds in disordered phases or in the initial stages of formation in paintings.

  7. A triple-scale crystal plasticity modeling and simulation on size effect due to fine-graining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurosawa, Eisuke; Aoyagi, Yoshiteru; Tadano, Yuichi; Shizawa, Kazuyuki

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, a triple-scale crystal plasticity model bridging three hierarchical material structures, i.e., dislocation structure, grain aggregate and practical macroscopic structure is developed. Geometrically necessary (GN) dislocation density and GN incompatibility are employed so as to describe isolated dislocations and dislocation pairs in a grain, respectively. Then the homogenization method is introduced into the GN dislocation-crystal plasticity model for derivation of the governing equation of macroscopic structure with the mathematical and physical consistencies. Using the present model, a triple-scale FE simulation bridging the above three hierarchical structures is carried out for f.c.c. polycrystals with different mean grain size. It is shown that the present model can qualitatively reproduce size effects of macroscopic specimen with ultrafine-grain, i.e., the increase of initial yield stress, the decrease of hardening ratio after reaching tensile strength and the reduction of tensile ductility with decrease of its grain size. Moreover, the relationship between macroscopic yielding of specimen and microscopic grain yielding is discussed and the mechanism of the poor tensile ductility due to fine-graining is clarified. (author)

  8. Using Quartz Crystal Microbalance for Field Measurement of Liquid Viscosities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingsong Bai

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The field measurement of liquid viscosities, especially the high viscous liquids, is challenging and often requires expensive equipment, long processing time, and lots of reagent. We use quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs operating in solution which are also sensitive to the viscosity and density of the contacting solution. QCMs are typically investigated for sensor applications in which one surface of QCM completely immersed in Newtonian liquid, but the viscous damping in liquids would cause not only large frequency shifts but also large losses in the quality factor Q leading to instability and even cessation of oscillation. A novel mass-sensitivity-based method for field measurement of liquid viscosities using a QCM is demonstrated in this paper and a model describing the influence of the liquid properties on the oscillation frequency is established as well. Two groups of verified experiments were performed and the experimental results show that the presented method is effective and possesses potential applications.

  9. Mode I crack analysis in single crystals with anisotropic discrete dislocation plasticity : I. Formulation and crack growth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shishvan, Siamak Soleymani; Van der Giessen, Erik

    Analyses of monotonic loading of a plane-strain mode I crack in an fcc single crystal under small-scale yielding are carried out using discrete dislocation plasticity (DDP) incorporating anisotropic elasticity. Two crystallographically symmetric crack orientations are considered where plane-strain

  10. Plastic deformation of submicron-sized crystals studied by in-situ Kikuchi diffraction and dislocation imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Xiaodan; Godfrey, Andrew; Winther, Grethe

    2012-01-01

    The plastic deformation of submicron-size copper single crystals in the form of pillars has been characterized during in-situ compression in the transmission electron microscope up to strains of 28–33% using a state-of-the-art holder (PI-95 PicoIndenter). The dimensions of the crystals used were...... approx. 500×250×200 nm3 with the compression axis oriented 1.6° from [110]. Local crystallographic orientations have been determined with high accuracy using a Kikuchi diffraction method and glide of dislocations over a pillar has also been observed directly by dark field imaging. The variation...

  11. Investigation of a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal system by NMR diffusometry and relaxometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Mingxue

    2013-02-26

    Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are polymer composites containing a dispersion of liquid crystal droplets in polymer networks. PDLCs have attracted much attention due to their unique properties and potential usage. The properties of PDLCs depend on the degree of phase separation and the size of liquid crystal droplets. To investigate the structure will help us to better understand and optimize PDLCs.The main aim of this PhD thesis was to investigate PDLCs by NMR techniques. Diffusion constants and spin-lattice relaxation times in the laboratory (T{sub 1}) and rotating frame (T{sub 1{rho}}) were measured for PDLCs as well as precursor mixtures based on the trifunctional monomer trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) and the commercial nematic mixture E7. The variation of the main dipolar splitting of {sup 1}H spectra with increasing temperature was analyzed to obtain the nematic-to-isotropic phase transition temperature and the nematic order parameter of E7 and, for comparison, the nematic liquid crystal 5CB.Diffusion constants in TMPTA/E7 mixtures, measured by pulsed-field gradient NMR, increase for both E7 and TMPTA as the mass fraction of E7 increases, due to the lower viscosity of E7. E7 in the PDLC diffuses more slowly than in the bulk because of the hindrance by the polymer matrix. T{sub 1} and T{sub 1{rho}} relaxation times in the liquid or liquid-crystalline phases of TMPTA and bulk E7 are higher than in the PDLC and the pure polymer, due to the lower mobility in the polymer samples. T{sub 1{rho}} in the PDLC is even shorter than in the pure polymer, indicating an anti-softening effect caused by E7 molecules. In bulk E7, the well-ordered rod-like molecules exhibit a unique H-C dipolar coupling, which leads to oscillations in the cross-polarization curve. However, in the PDLC, the anchoring effect at the boundary between the polymer and LC droplets disturbs the molecular order resulting in a smooth cross polarization curve.

  12. Investigation of a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal system by NMR diffusometry and relaxometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Mingxue

    2013-01-01

    Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are polymer composites containing a dispersion of liquid crystal droplets in polymer networks. PDLCs have attracted much attention due to their unique properties and potential usage. The properties of PDLCs depend on the degree of phase separation and the size of liquid crystal droplets. To investigate the structure will help us to better understand and optimize PDLCs.The main aim of this PhD thesis was to investigate PDLCs by NMR techniques. Diffusion constants and spin-lattice relaxation times in the laboratory (T 1 ) and rotating frame (T 1ρ ) were measured for PDLCs as well as precursor mixtures based on the trifunctional monomer trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) and the commercial nematic mixture E7. The variation of the main dipolar splitting of 1 H spectra with increasing temperature was analyzed to obtain the nematic-to-isotropic phase transition temperature and the nematic order parameter of E7 and, for comparison, the nematic liquid crystal 5CB.Diffusion constants in TMPTA/E7 mixtures, measured by pulsed-field gradient NMR, increase for both E7 and TMPTA as the mass fraction of E7 increases, due to the lower viscosity of E7. E7 in the PDLC diffuses more slowly than in the bulk because of the hindrance by the polymer matrix. T 1 and T 1ρ relaxation times in the liquid or liquid-crystalline phases of TMPTA and bulk E7 are higher than in the PDLC and the pure polymer, due to the lower mobility in the polymer samples. T 1ρ in the PDLC is even shorter than in the pure polymer, indicating an anti-softening effect caused by E7 molecules. In bulk E7, the well-ordered rod-like molecules exhibit a unique H-C dipolar coupling, which leads to oscillations in the cross-polarization curve. However, in the PDLC, the anchoring effect at the boundary between the polymer and LC droplets disturbs the molecular order resulting in a smooth cross polarization curve.

  13. Liquid-crystal laser optics: design, fabrication, and performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacobs, S.D.; Cerqua, K.A.; Marshall, K.L.; Schmid, A.; Guardalben, M.J.; Skerrett, K.J.

    1988-01-01

    We describe the development of laser optics utilizing liquid crystals. Devices discussed constitute passive optical elements for both low-power and high-power laser systems, operating in either the pulsed or cw mode. Designs and fabrication methods are given in detail for wave plates, circular polarizers, optical isolators, laser-blocking notch filters, and soft apertures. Performance data in the visible to near infrared show these devices to be useful alternatives to other technologies based on conventional glasses, crystals, or thin films. The issue of laser damage is examined on the basis of off-line threshold testing and daily use in OMEGA, the 24-beam Nd:glass laser system at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Results demonstrate that long-term survivability has been achieved

  14. Thermo- and electro-optical properties of photonic liquid crystal fibers doped with gold nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agata Siarkowska

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Thermo- and electro-optical properties of a photonic liquid crystal fiber (PLCF enhanced by the use of dopants have been investigated. A 6CHBT nematic liquid crystal was doped with four different concentrations of gold nanoparticles (NPs, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 wt %, for direct comparison of the influence of the dopant on the properties of the PLCF. The thermo-optical effects of the liquid crystal doped with gold NPs were compared in three setups, an LC cell, a microcapillary and within the PLCF, to determine if the observed responses to external factors are caused by the properties of the infiltration material or due to the setup configuration. The results obtained indicated that with increasing NP doping a significant reduction of the rise time under an external electric field occurs with a simultaneous decrease in the nematic–isotropic phase transition temperature, thus improving the thermo- and electro-optical properties of the PLCF.

  15. Thermo- and electro-optical properties of photonic liquid crystal fibers doped with gold nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siarkowska, Agata; Chychłowski, Miłosz; Budaszewski, Daniel; Jankiewicz, Bartłomiej; Bartosewicz, Bartosz; Woliński, Tomasz R

    2017-01-01

    Thermo- and electro-optical properties of a photonic liquid crystal fiber (PLCF) enhanced by the use of dopants have been investigated. A 6CHBT nematic liquid crystal was doped with four different concentrations of gold nanoparticles (NPs), 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 wt %, for direct comparison of the influence of the dopant on the properties of the PLCF. The thermo-optical effects of the liquid crystal doped with gold NPs were compared in three setups, an LC cell, a microcapillary and within the PLCF, to determine if the observed responses to external factors are caused by the properties of the infiltration material or due to the setup configuration. The results obtained indicated that with increasing NP doping a significant reduction of the rise time under an external electric field occurs with a simultaneous decrease in the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature, thus improving the thermo- and electro-optical properties of the PLCF.

  16. A roadmap to uranium ionic liquids: anti-crystal engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaprak, Damla; Spielberg, Eike T; Bäcker, Tobias; Richter, Mark; Mallick, Bert; Klein, Axel; Mudring, Anja-Verena

    2014-05-19

    In the search for uranium-based ionic liquids, tris(N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato)uranylates have been synthesized as salts of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (C4mim) cation. As dithiocarbamate ligands binding to the UO2(2+) unit, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, and heptamethylenedithiocarbamates, N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate, N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, and N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate have been explored. X-ray single-crystal diffraction allowed unambiguous structural characterization of all compounds except N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate, which is obtained as a glassy material only. In addition, powder X-ray diffraction as well as vibrational and UV/Vis spectroscopy, supported by computational methods, were used to characterize the products. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to investigate the phase-transition behavior depending on the N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand with the aim to establish structure-property relationships regarding the ionic liquid formation capability. Compounds with the least symmetric N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand and hence the least symmetric anions, tris(N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, tris(N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, and tris(N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, lead to the formation of (room-temperature) ionic liquids, which confirms that low-symmetry ions are indeed suitable to suppress crystallization. These materials combine low melting points, stable complex formation, and hydrophobicity and are therefore excellent candidates for nuclear fuel purification and recovery. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Simulating human photoreceptor optics using a liquid-filled photonic crystal fiber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rativa, Diego; Vohnsen, Brian

    2011-02-11

    We introduce a liquid-filled photonic crystal fiber to simulate a retinal cone photoreceptor mosaic and the directionality selective mechanism broadly known as the Stiles-Crawford effect. Experimental measurements are realized across the visible spectrum to study waveguide coupling and directionality at different managed waveguide parameters. The crystal fiber method is a hybrid tool between theory and a real biological sample and a valuable addition as a retina model for real eye simulations.

  18. Longitudinal and transverse pyroelectric effects in a chiral ferroelectric liquid crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yablonskii, S. V., E-mail: yablonskii2005@yandex.ru; Bondarchuk, V. V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation); Soto-Bustamante, E. A.; Romero-Hasler, P. N. [Universidad de Chile (Chile); Ozaki, M. [Osaka University, Department of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering (Japan); Yoshino, K. [Shimane Institute for Industrial Technology (Japan)

    2015-04-15

    In this study, we compare the results of experimental investigations of longitudinal and transverse pyroelectric effects in a chiral ferroelectric crystal. In a transverse geometry, we studied freely suspended liquid-crystal films. In both geometries, samples exhibited bistability, demonstrating stable pyroelectric signals of different polarities at zero voltage. It is shown that a bistable cell based on a freely suspended film requires 40 times less energy expenditures as compared to the conventional sandwich-type cell.

  19. Nonlinear absorption of fullerene- and nanotubes-doped liquid crystal systems

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kamanina, N.; Reshak, Ali H; Vasiliev, P.Y.; Vangonen, A. I.; Studeonov, V. I.; Usanov, Y. E.; Ebothe, J.; Gondek, E.; Wojcik, W.; Danel, A.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 41, č. 3 (2009), s. 391-394 ISSN 1386-9477 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60870520 Keywords : nonlinear absorption properties * organic electrooptical systems * liquid crystal * fullerene s * nanotubes * PVK-derivatives Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 1.177, year: 2009

  20. Active shape-morphing elastomeric colloids in short-pitch cholesteric liquid crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Julian S; Sun, Yaoran; Senyuk, Bohdan; Keller, Patrick; Pergamenshchik, Victor M; Lee, Taewoo; Smalyukh, Ivan I

    2013-05-03

    Active elastomeric liquid crystal particles with initial cylindrical shapes are obtained by means of soft lithography and polymerization in a strong magnetic field. Gold nanocrystals infiltrated into these particles mediate energy transfer from laser light to heat, so that the inherent coupling between the temperature-dependent order and shape allows for dynamic morphing of these particles and well-controlled stable shapes. Continuous changes of particle shapes are followed by their spontaneous realignment and transformations of director structures in the surrounding cholesteric host, as well as locomotion in the case of a nonreciprocal shape morphing. These findings bridge the fields of liquid crystal solids and active colloids, may enable shape-controlled self-assembly of adaptive composites and light-driven micromachines, and can be understood by employing simple symmetry considerations along with electrostatic analogies.

  1. Electrically tunable Fabry-Péerot resonator based on microstructured Si containing liquid crystal

    KAUST Repository

    Tolmachev, Vladimir A.; Melnikov, Vasily; Baldycheva, Anna V.; Berwick, Kevin; Perova, Tatiana S.

    2012-01-01

    We have built Fabry-Perot resonators based on microstructured silicon and a liquid crystal. The devices exhibit tuning of the resonance peaks over a wide range, with relative spectral shifts of up to Delta lambda/lambda = 10%. In order to achieve this substantial spectral shift, cavity peaks of high order were used. Under applied voltages of up to 15 V, a variation in the refractive index of the nematic liquid crystal E7 from Delta n(LC) = 0.12 to Delta n(LC) = 0.17 was observed. These results may have practical applications in the near-, mid and far-infrared range.

  2. Plasticity characteristic obtained by indentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mil'man, Yu.V.; Chugunova, S.I.; Goncharova, I.V.

    2011-01-01

    Methods for determination plasticity characteristic δH in the measurement of hardness and nanohardness are considered. Parameter δH characterizes the plasticity of a material by the part of plastic deformation in the total elastic-plastic deformation. The value of δH is defined for metals with different types of crystal lattice, covalent and partially covalent crystals, intermetallics, metallic glasses and quasicrystals. It is discussed the dependence of the plasticity characteristic δH on structural factors and temperature. Parameter δH allows to analyze and compare the plasticity of materials which are brittle at standard mechanical tests. The combination of hardness H, as the strength characteristic, and the plasticity characteristic δH makes possible the better characterization of mechanical behavior of materials than only the hardness H. The examples of plasticity characteristic δH application are represented.

  3. Ultrasonic absorption and velocity dispersion of binary mixture liquid crystal MBBA/EBBA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, K.

    1979-01-01

    The effect of phase transitions and the partial magnetic alignment for liquid crystal molecules on the ultrasonic absorption and velocity dispersion has been investigated. The binary mixture of Shiff base liquid crystals MBBA/EBBA (55:45 mole %) showed anomalous ultrasonic absorption and velocity dispersion at eutectic (Tsub(m) = -20 0 C) and clearing point (Tsub(c) = 50 0 C) at the frequency range of 5 MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz and 30 MHz. The experimental data were analyzed in terms of relaxation time and Fixman theory. The anisotropy of the propagation velocity due to the magnetic alignment was about 0.9% (the deviation between velocities propagating parallel and perpendicular to the applied field). (author)

  4. Deuteron NMR resolved mesogen vs. crosslinker molecular order and reorientational exchange in liquid single crystal elastomers

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Milavec, J.; Domenici, V.; Zupančič, B.; Rešetič, A.; Bubnov, Alexej; Zalar, B.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 18, č. 5 (2016), s. 4071-4077 ISSN 1463-9076 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-02843S; GA MŠk(CZ) LD14007 Grant - others:EU - ICT(XE) COST Action IC1208 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : liquid single crystal elastomer * NMR * liquid crystal * molecular order * monomers Subject RIV: JJ - Other Materials Impact factor: 4.123, year: 2016

  5. On a hyperbolic system arising in liquid crystals modeling

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Feireisl, Eduard; Rocca, E.; Schimperna, G.; Zarnescu, A.

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 15, č. 1 (2018), s. 15-35 ISSN 0219-8916 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 320078 - MATHEF Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : dissipative solution * liquid crystal * weak-strong uniqueness Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics Impact factor: 0.940, year: 2016 https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0219891618500029

  6. Plastic fluctuations in empty crystals formed by cubic wireframe particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBride, John M.; Avendaño, Carlos

    2018-05-01

    We present a computer simulation study of the phase behavior of colloidal hard cubic frames, i.e., particles with nonconvex cubic wireframe geometry interacting purely by excluded volume. Despite the propensity of cubic wireframe particles to form cubic phases akin to their convex counterparts, these particles exhibit unusual plastic fluctuations in which a random and dynamic fraction of particles rotate around their lattice positions in the crystal lattice while the remainder of the particles remains fully ordered. We argue that this unexpected effect stems from the nonconvex geometry of the particles in which the faces of a particle can be penetrated by the vertices of the nearest neighbors even at high number densities.

  7. Comprehensive three-dimensional analysis of surface plasmon polariton modes at uniaxial liquid crystal-metal interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yen, Yin-Ray; Lee, Tsun-Hsiun; Wu, Zheng-Yu; Lin, Tsung-Hsien; Hung, Yu-Ju

    2015-12-14

    This paper describes the derivation of surface plasmon polariton modes associated with the generalized three-dimensional rotation of liquid crystal molecules on a metal film. The calculated dispersion relation was verified by coupling laser light into surface plasmon polariton waves in a one-dimensional grating device. The grating-assisted plasmon coupling condition was consistent with the formulated k(spp) value. This provides a general rule for the design of liquid-crystal tunable plasmonic devices.

  8. Numerical study of liquid crystal elastomers by a mixed finite element method

    KAUST Repository

    LUO, C.

    2011-08-22

    Liquid crystal elastomers present features not found in ordinary elastic materials, such as semi-soft elasticity and the related stripe domain phenomenon. In this paper, the two-dimensional Bladon-Terentjev-Warner model and the one-constant Oseen-Frank energy expression are combined to study the liquid crystal elastomer. We also impose two material constraints, the incompressibility of the elastomer and the unit director norm of the liquid crystal. We prove existence of minimiser of the energy for the proposed model. Next we formulate the discrete model, and also prove that it possesses a minimiser of the energy. The inf-sup values of the discrete linearised system are then related to the smallest singular values of certain matrices. Next the existence and uniqueness of the Lagrange multipliers associated with the two material constraints are proved under the assumption that the inf-sup conditions hold. Finally numerical simulations of the clamped-pulling experiment are presented for elastomer samples with aspect ratio 1 or 3. The semi-soft elasticity is successfully recovered in both cases. The stripe domain phenomenon, however, is not observed, which might be due to the relative coarse mesh employed in the numerical experiment. Possible improvements are discussed that might lead to the recovery of the stripe domain phenomenon. © Copyright Cambridge University Press 2011.

  9. Switchable Photonic Crystals Using One-Dimensional Confined Liquid Crystals for Photonic Device Application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryu, Seong Ho; Gim, Min-Jun; Lee, Wonsuk; Choi, Suk-Won; Yoon, Dong Ki

    2017-01-25

    Photonic crystals (PCs) have recently attracted considerable attention, with much effort devoted to photonic bandgap (PBG) control for varying the reflected color. Here, fabrication of a modulated one-dimensional (1D) anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) PC with a periodic porous structure is reported. The PBG of the fabricated PC can be reversibly changed by switching the ultraviolet (UV) light on/off. The AAO nanopores contain a mixture of photoresponsive liquid crystals (LCs) with irradiation-activated cis/trans photoisomerizable azobenzene. The resultant mixture of LCs in the porous AAO film exhibits a reversible PBG, depending on the cis/trans configuration of azobenzene molecules. The PBG switching is reliable over many cycles, suggesting that the fabricated device can be used in optical and photonic applications such as light modulators, smart windows, and sensors.

  10. Applicability of geometrical optics to in-plane liquid-crystal configurations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sluijter, M.; Xu, M.; Urbach, H.P.; De Boer, D.K.G.

    2010-01-01

    We study the applicability of geometrical optics to inhomogeneous dielectric nongyrotropic optically anisotropic media typically found in in-plane liquid-crystal configurations with refractive indices no=1.5 and ne=1.7. To this end, we compare the results of advanced ray- and wave-optics simulations

  11. Optics of Confined Liquid Crystals for Gas Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles, William; Carrozzi, Daniel; Vigilia, Lee Anne; Wang, Xiaoyurui; Guzman, Violet; Shibayev, Petr; Fordham University Students of Undergraduate Physics Team

    Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) of a wide range of viscosities were studied experimentally in relation to their use as gas sensors and sensors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), specifically ethanol, cyclohexane, toluene, acetic acid, and pyridine. CLCs were obtained by mixing low molar mass liquid crystals (MBBA and cholesterol derivatives with siloxane based oligomers). The droplets of CLCs were placed in containers with controlled atmospheres. The shift of the selective reflection band, predominantly from shorter to longer wavelengths, and the color changes were observed in the CLC illuminated by light coming from the various directions. Visible optical changes were observed in droplets with viscosities of CLCs ranging from c.a. 4 Pa*s to 105 Pa*s. The most responsive droplets in which the shift of the selective reflection band occurs at lower concentrations of VOCs were prepared from CLC mixtures with the lowest viscosities. Higher viscosities of CLCs lead to a slower response to VOCs, but the rate of response is different for each pair of VOC and CLC with a certain viscosity. This finding opens a possibility for selective detection of VOCs by CLCs with different viscosities. The mechanism of VOCs diffusion, interaction with CLC matrix and optical changes is discusse

  12. Liquid crystal droplet formation and anchoring dynamics in a microfluidic device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinhaus, Ben; Shen, Amy; Feng, James; Link, Darren

    2004-11-01

    Liquid crystal drops dispersed in a continuous phase of silicon oil are generated with a narrow distribution in droplet size in microfluidic devices both above and below the nematic to isotropic transition temperature. For these two cases, we observe not only the different LC droplet generation and coalescence dynamics, but also distinct droplet morphology. Our experiments show that the nematic liquid crystalline order is important for the LC droplet formation and anchoring dynamics.

  13. Electrically Rotatable Polarizer Using One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal with a Nematic Liquid Crystal Defect Layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryotaro Ozaki

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Polarization characteristics of defect mode peaks in a one-dimensional (1D photonic crystal (PC with a nematic liquid crystal (NLC defect layer have been investigated. Two different polarized defect modes are observed in a stop band. One group of defect modes is polarized along the long molecular axis of the NLC, whereas another group is polarized along its short axis. Polarizations of the defect modes can be tuned by field-induced in-plane reorientation of the NLC in the defect layer. The polarization properties of the 1D PC with the NLC defect layer is also investigated by the finite difference time domain (FDTD simulation.

  14. Sodium chloride crystallization from thin liquid sheets, thick layers, and sessile drops in microgravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontana, Pietro; Pettit, Donald; Cristoforetti, Samantha

    2015-10-01

    Crystallization from aqueous sodium chloride solutions as thin liquid sheets, 0.2-0.7 mm thick, with two free surfaces supported by a wire frame, thick liquid layers, 4-6 mm thick, with two free surfaces supported by metal frame, and hemispherical sessile drops, 20-32 mm diameter, supported by a flat polycarbonate surface or an initially flat gelatin film, were carried out under microgravity on the International Space Station (ISS). Different crystal morphologies resulted based on the fluid geometry: tabular hoppers, hopper cubes, circular [111]-oriented crystals, and dendrites. The addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG-3350) inhibited the hopper growth resulting in flat-faced surfaces. In sessile drops, 1-4 mm tabular hopper crystals formed on the free surface and moved to the fixed contact line at the support (polycarbonate or gelatin) self-assembling into a shell. Ring formation created by sessile drop evaporation to dryness was observed but with crystals 100 times larger than particles in terrestrially formed coffee rings. No hopper pyramids formed. By choosing solution geometries offered by microgravity, we found it was possible to selectively grow crystals of preferred morphologies.

  15. Global solution to the 3D inhomogeneous nematic liquid crystal flows with variable density

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Xianpeng; Liu, Qiao

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, we investigate the global existence and uniqueness of solution to the 3D inhomogeneous incompressible nematic liquid crystal flows with variable density in the framework of Besov spaces. It is proved that there exists a global and unique solution to the nematic liquid crystal flows if the initial data (ρ0 - 1 ,u0 ,n0 -e3) ∈ M (B˙p,1 3/p - 1 (R3)) × B˙p,1 3/p - 1 (R3) × B˙p,1 3/p (R3) with 1 ≤ p < 6, and satisfies

  16. Thermalization calorimetry: A simple method for investigating glass transition and crystallization of supercooled liquids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jakobsen, Bo; Sanz, Alejandro; Niss, Kristine

    2016-01-01

    and their crystallization, e.g., for locating the glass transition and melting point(s), as well as for investigating the stability against crystallization and estimating the relative change in specific heat between the solid and liquid phases at the glass transition......We present a simple method for fast and cheap thermal analysis on supercooled glass-forming liquids. This “Thermalization Calorimetry” technique is based on monitoring the temperature and its rate of change during heating or cooling of a sample for which the thermal power input comes from heat...

  17. Mirror Symmetry Breaking by Chirality Synchronisation in Liquids and Liquid Crystals of Achiral Molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschierske, Carsten; Ungar, Goran

    2016-01-04

    Spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking is an efficient way to obtain homogeneously chiral agents, pharmaceutical ingredients and materials. It is also in the focus of the discussion around the emergence of uniform chirality in biological systems. Tremendous progress has been made by symmetry breaking during crystallisation from supercooled melts or supersaturates solutions and by self-assembly on solid surfaces and in other highly ordered structures. However, recent observations of spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking in liquids and liquid crystals indicate that it is not limited to the well-ordered solid state. Herein, progress in the understanding of a new dynamic mode of symmetry breaking, based on chirality synchronisation of transiently chiral molecules in isotropic liquids and in bicontinuous cubic, columnar, smectic and nematic liquid crystalline phases is discussed. This process leads to spontaneous deracemisation in the liquid state under thermodynamic control, giving rise to long-term stable symmetry-broken fluids, even at high temperatures. These fluids form conglomerates that are capable of extraordinary strong chirality amplification, eventually leading to homochirality and providing a new view on the discussion of emergence of uniform chirality in prebiotic systems. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Infra-Red Gas Analysers of Liquid Crystal Type for Environmental Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. I. Nazarov

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper reveals an opportunity to use infra-red gas analysers on the basis of the developed dichroic liquid crystal cells for investigation of absorption bands of various gases in the near infrared spectral region.

  19. Variation along liquid isomorphs of the driving force for crystallization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Ulf Rørbæk; Adrjanowicz, Karolina; Niss, Kristine

    2017-01-01

    at a reference temperature. More general analysis allows interpretation of experimental data for molecular liquids such as dimethyl phthalate and indomethacin, and suggests that the isomorph scaling exponent γ in these cases is an increasing function of density, although this cannot be seen in measurements......We investigate the variation of the driving force for crystallization of a supercooled liquid along isomorphs, curves along which structure and dynamics are invariant. The variation is weak, and can be predicted accurately for the Lennard-Jones fluid using a recently developed formalism and data...

  20. Transmitted spectral modulation of double-ring resonator using liquid crystals in terahertz range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Huijuan; Zhou, Qingli; Wang, Xiumin; Li, Chenyu; Wu, Ani; Zhang, Cunlin

    2013-12-01

    Metamaterials with subwavelength structural features show unique electromagnetic responses that are unattainable with natural materials. Recent research on these artificial materials has been pushed forward to the terahertz region because of potential applications in biological fingerprinting, security imaging, remote sensing, and high frequency magnetic and electric resonant devices. Active control of their properties could further facilitate and open up new applications in terms of modulation and switching. Liquid crystals, which have been the subject of research for more than a century, have the unique properties for the development of many other optical components such as light valves, tunable filters and tunable lenses. In this paper, we investigated the transmitted spectral modulation in terahertz range by using liquid crystals (5CB and TEB300) covering on the fabricated double-ring resonators to realize the shift of the resonance frequency. Our obtained results indicate the low frequency resonance shows the obvious blue-shift, while the location of high frequency resonance is nearly unchanged. We believe this phenomenon is related to not only the refractive index of the covering liquid crystals but also the resonant mechanism of both resonances.

  1. New Pyrazolium Salts as a Support for Ionic Liquid Crystals and Ionic Conductors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pastor, María Jesús; Sánchez, Ignacio; Campo, José A; Schmidt, Rainer; Cano, Mercedes

    2018-04-03

    Ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) are a class of materials that combine the properties of liquid crystals (LCs) and ionic liquids (ILs). This type of materials is directed towards properties such as conductivity in ordered systems at different temperatures. In this work, we synthesize five new families of ILCs containing symmetrical and unsymmetrical substituted pyrazolium cations, with different alkyl long-chains, and anions such as Cl - , BF₄ - , ReO₄ - , p -CH₃-₆H₄SO₃ - (PTS) and CF₃SO₃ - (OTf). We study their thermal behavior by polarized light optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All of them, except those with OTf as counteranion, show thermotropic mesomorphism. The observations by POM reveal textures of lamellar mesophases. Those agree with the arrangement observed in the X-ray crystal structure of [H₂pz R(4),R(4) ][ReO₄]. The nature of the mesophases is also confirmed by variable temperature powder X-ray diffraction. On the other hand, the study of the dielectric properties at variable temperature in mesomorphic (Cl - and BF₄ - ) and non-mesomorphic (OTf) salts indicates that the supramolecular arrangement of the mesophase favors a greater ionic mobility and therefore ionic conductivity.

  2. Formulation of electroclinic, ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures suitable for display devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Debnath, Asim; Goswami, Debarghya; Mandal, Pradip Kumar

    2018-04-01

    Most of the liquid crystal display (LCD) devices starting from simplest wrist watches or calculators to complex laptops or flat TV sets are based on nematics. Although a tremendous improvement in the quality of display as well as reduction of manufacturing cost has taken place over the years, there are many issues which the LC industry is trying hard to address. Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC) are of current interest in the LCD industry since among various other advantages FLC based displays have micro-second order switching compared to milli-second order switching in nematic based displays. To meet the market demand much effort has been made to optimize the physical parameters of FLCs, such as temperature range, spontaneous polarization (PS), helical pitch (p), switching time (τ), tilt angle (θ) and rotational viscosity (γ). Multicomponent mixtures are, therefore, formulated to optimize all the required properties for practical applications since no single FLC compound can satisfy the above requirements. To the best of our knowledge electroclinic, ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures have been formulated first time by any Indian group which have properties suitable for FLC based display devices and at par with mixtures used in the industry.

  3. Effects of monoclinic symmetry on the properties of biaxial liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solodkov, Nikita V.; Nagaraj, Mamatha; Jones, J. Cliff

    2018-04-01

    Tilted smectic liquid crystal phases such as the smectic-C phase seen in calamitic liquid crystals are usually treated using the assumption of biaxial orthorhombic symmetry. However, the smectic-C phase has monoclinic symmetry, thereby allowing disassociation of the principal optic and dielectric axes based on symmetry and invariance principles. This is demonstrated here by comparing optical and dielectric measurements for two materials with highly first-order direct transitions from nematic to smectic-C phases. The results show a high difference between the orientations of the principal axes sets, which is interpreted as the existence of two distinct cone angles for optical and dielectric frequencies. Both materials exhibit an increasing degree of monoclinic behavior with decreasing temperature. Due to fast switching speeds, ferroelectric smectic-C* materials are important for fast modulators and LCoS devices, where the dielectric biaxiality influences device operation.

  4. Metric approach for sound propagation in nematic liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, E.; Fumeron, S.; Moraes, F.

    2013-02-01

    In the eikonal approach, we describe sound propagation near topological defects of nematic liquid crystals as geodesics of a non-Euclidian manifold endowed with an effective metric tensor. The relation between the acoustics of the medium and this geometrical description is given by Fermat's principle. We calculate the ray trajectories and propose a diffraction experiment to retrieve information about the elastic constants.

  5. Optical security devices using nonuniform schlieren texture of UV-curable nematic liquid crystal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakayama, Keizo; Ohtsubo, Junji

    2016-02-10

    We proposed and quantitatively evaluated an optical security device that provides nonuniform or random patterns of schlieren texture in nematic liquid crystal as unique identification information with a design by employing computer image processing and normalized cross correlation. Using the same photomask as the first author's university logo, the written patterns, which were composed of polymerized isotropic areas and polymerized nematic areas, were stable among different cells. Judging from the maximum correlation coefficient of 0.09, the patterns of the schlieren texture were unique in different cells. These results indicate that photocurable nematic liquid crystal materials have the potential to be applied to security devices for anticounterfeiting measures.

  6. Indium-tin oxide surface treatments: Effects on the performance of liquid crystal devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abderrahmen, A.; Romdhane, F.F.; Ben Ouada, H.; Gharbi, A.

    2006-01-01

    In this work, we investigate the effect of indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate cleaning on the surface properties. Wettability technique was used to measure the contact angle and the surface energy of the different treated ITO substrates. It is found that treatment with the methanol without dehydration gives the lowest water contact angle (most hydrophilic surface) and the highest surface energy compared to other solvents. This result was confirmed by impedance measurements performed on nematic liquid crystal cells with ITO electrodes. Indeed, we check the decrease of ionic entities in the interface ITO/liquid crystal. The polarity and dielectric parameters of the used solvents explain the obtained results

  7. Indium-tin oxide surface treatments: Effects on the performance of liquid crystal devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abderrahmen, A. [Laboratoire de physique et chimie des interfaces, Faculte des sciences, 5000, Monastir (Tunisia)]. E-mail: asma_abderrahmen@yahoo.fr; Romdhane, F.F. [Laboratoire de la matiere molle, Faculte des sciences, Tunis (Tunisia); Ben Ouada, H. [Laboratoire de physique et chimie des interfaces, Faculte des sciences, 5000, Monastir (Tunisia); Gharbi, A. [Laboratoire de la matiere molle, Faculte des sciences, Tunis (Tunisia)

    2006-03-15

    In this work, we investigate the effect of indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate cleaning on the surface properties. Wettability technique was used to measure the contact angle and the surface energy of the different treated ITO substrates. It is found that treatment with the methanol without dehydration gives the lowest water contact angle (most hydrophilic surface) and the highest surface energy compared to other solvents. This result was confirmed by impedance measurements performed on nematic liquid crystal cells with ITO electrodes. Indeed, we check the decrease of ionic entities in the interface ITO/liquid crystal. The polarity and dielectric parameters of the used solvents explain the obtained results.

  8. Optical Manipulation of Shape-Morphing Elastomeric Liquid Crystal Microparticles Doped with Gold Nanocrystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Y. R.; Evans, J. S.; Lee, T.; Senyuk, B.; Keller, P.; He, S. L.; Smalyukh, I. I.

    2012-06-11

    We demonstrate facile optical manipulation of shape of birefringent colloidal microparticles made from liquid crystal elastomers. Using soft lithography and polymerization, we fabricate elastomeric microcylinders with weakly undulating director oriented on average along their long axes. These particles are infiltrated with gold nanospheres acting as heat transducers that allow for an efficient localized transfer of heat from a focused infrared laser beam to a submicrometer region within a microparticle. Photothermal control of ordering in the liquid crystal elastomer using scanned beams allows for a robust control of colloidal particles, enabling both reversible and irreversible changes of shape. Possible applications include optomechanics, microfluidics, and reconfigurable colloidal composites with shape-dependent self-assembly.

  9. Confinement effects on strongly polar alkylcyanobiphenyl liquid crystals probed by dielectric spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leys, Jan; Glorieux, Christ; Thoen, Jan [Laboratorium voor Akoestiek en Thermische Fysica, Departement Natuurkunde en Sterrenkunde, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D-bus 2416, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)], E-mail: jan.leys@fys.kuleuven.be, E-mail: jan.thoen@fys.kuleuven.be

    2008-06-18

    Dielectric spectroscopy has often been used to study confinement effects in alkylcyanobiphenyl liquid crystals. In this paper, we highlight some of the effects that have been discovered previously and add new data and interpretation. Aerosil nanoparticles form a hydrogen bonded random porous network. In dispersions of alkylcyanobiphenyls with aerosils, an additional slow process arises, that we ascribe to the relaxation of liquid crystal molecules in close interaction with these nanoparticles. Their relaxation is retarded by a hydrogen bond interaction between the cyano group of the liquid crystals and an aerosil surface hydroxyl group. A similar surface process is also observed in Vycor porous glass, a random rigid structure with small pores. A comparison of the temperature dependence of the relaxation times of the surface processes in decylcyanobiphenyl and isopentylcyanobiphenyl is made, both for Vycor and aerosil confinement. In decylcyanobiphenyl, the temperature dependence for the bulk and surface processes is Arrhenius (in a limited temperature range above the melting point), except in Vycor, where it is a Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman dependence (over a much broader temperature range). In bulk and confined isopentylcyanobiphenyl, the molecular processes have a Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman dependence, whereas the surface processes have an Arrhenius one. Another effect is the acceleration of the rotation around the short molecular axis in confinement, and particularly in aerosil dispersions. This is a consequence of the disorder introduced in the liquid crystalline phase. The disorder drives the relaxation time towards a more isotropic value, resulting in an acceleration for the short axis rotation.

  10. Deterioration of plasticized PVC components in Apollo spacesuits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shashoua, Yvonne; Schnell, Ulrich; Young, Lisa

    2002-01-01

    Spacesuits from the Apollo era are unique in their history, materials and construction. This project involved the first detailed examination of the condition of the spacesuits since their acquisition by the National Air and Space Museum in the 1970s. Plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing...... in the Life Support System, used to transport air and water to the astronaut, and in the Liquid Cooling Garment, used to cool the wearer of the spacesuit, exhibited high levels of deterioration. Tubing was unacceptably discoloured, tacky to the touch and surfaces were obscured by crystals. Visual examination...

  11. Gold nanoparticles in plastic columnar discotic liquid crystalline material

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mishra, Mukesh, E-mail: mukeshphysics927@gmail.com [Center of Material Sciences, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002 (India); Kumar, Sandeep [Raman Research Institute, C.V. Raman Avenue, Sadashivanagar, Bangalore 560080 (India); Dhar, Ravindra, E-mail: dr.ravindra.dhar@gmail.com [Center of Material Sciences, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002 (India)

    2016-05-10

    Highlights: • Dispersion of Gold nanoparticles in a discotic liquid crystal has been studied. • σ{sub i} increases by seven orders of magnitude in the case of 1.2 wt% GNPs composites. • X-ray scattering results revel that a decrement in the core–core separation. • Study suggests that dispersion at low concentrations is uniform. • Band gap has decreased due to dispersion of GNPs in HAT4. - Abstract: We have studied the effect of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on the thermodynamical, optical and dielectrical parameters of a discotic liquid crystal (DLC) namely hexabutyloxytriphenylene (HAT4). It has been observed that with the increase of GNPs concentration in DLC, composites shows two different regions. In the first regions i.e. low concentrations (<1 wt%), columnar hexagonal-isotropic (Col{sub hp}-I{sub L}) transition temperature and enthalpy (ΔH) decrease rapidly while in the second region i.e. higher concentrations (>1 wt%) Col{sub hp}-I{sub L} transition temperature and ΔH are approximately constant. It has been observed that, in the case of composites having 0.2 and 0.6 wt% of GNPs, conductivity has enhanced but it is poor as compared to the composite having 1.2 wt% of GNPs. For 1.2 wt% of GNPs, conductivity has increased by seven orders of magnitude as compared to the DLC. Optical study suggests that band gap of nanocomposites has decreased due to dispersion of GNPs.

  12. A roadmap to uranium ionic liquids: Anti-crystal engineering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yaprak, Damla; Spielberg, Eike T.; Baecker, Tobias; Richter, Mark; Mallick, Bert [Inorganic Chemistry III, Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany); Klein, Axel [Institut fuer Anorganische Chemie, Koeln Univ. (Germany); Mudring, Anja-Verena [Inorganic Chemistry III, Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany); Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University and Critical Materials Institute, Ames Laboratory, Ames, IA (United States)

    2014-05-19

    In the search for uranium-based ionic liquids, tris(N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato)uranylates have been synthesized as salts of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (C{sub 4}mim) cation. As dithiocarbamate ligands binding to the UO{sub 2}{sup 2+} unit, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, and heptamethylenedithiocarbamates, N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate, N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, and N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate have been explored. X-ray single-crystal diffraction allowed unambiguous structural characterization of all compounds except N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate, which is obtained as a glassy material only. In addition, powder X-ray diffraction as well as vibrational and UV/Vis spectroscopy, supported by computational methods, were used to characterize the products. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to investigate the phase-transition behavior depending on the N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand with the aim to establish structure-property relationships regarding the ionic liquid formation capability. Compounds with the least symmetric N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand and hence the least symmetric anions, tris(N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, tris(N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, and tris(N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, lead to the formation of (room-temperature) ionic liquids, which confirms that low-symmetry ions are indeed suitable to suppress crystallization. These materials combine low melting points, stable complex formation, and hydrophobicity and are therefore excellent candidates for nuclear fuel purification and recovery. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  13. A roadmap to uranium ionic liquids: Anti-crystal engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yaprak, Damla; Spielberg, Eike T.; Baecker, Tobias; Richter, Mark; Mallick, Bert; Klein, Axel; Mudring, Anja-Verena

    2014-01-01

    In the search for uranium-based ionic liquids, tris(N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato)uranylates have been synthesized as salts of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (C_4mim) cation. As dithiocarbamate ligands binding to the UO_2"2"+ unit, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, and heptamethylenedithiocarbamates, N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate, N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, and N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate have been explored. X-ray single-crystal diffraction allowed unambiguous structural characterization of all compounds except N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate, which is obtained as a glassy material only. In addition, powder X-ray diffraction as well as vibrational and UV/Vis spectroscopy, supported by computational methods, were used to characterize the products. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to investigate the phase-transition behavior depending on the N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand with the aim to establish structure-property relationships regarding the ionic liquid formation capability. Compounds with the least symmetric N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand and hence the least symmetric anions, tris(N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, tris(N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, and tris(N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, lead to the formation of (room-temperature) ionic liquids, which confirms that low-symmetry ions are indeed suitable to suppress crystallization. These materials combine low melting points, stable complex formation, and hydrophobicity and are therefore excellent candidates for nuclear fuel purification and recovery. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  14. Measurement of the Jones matrix of liquid crystal displays using a common path interferometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarkadi, Tamás; Koppa, Pál

    2011-01-01

    We propose a robust interferometric method to measure the Jones matrix of polarization components, especially liquid crystal displays. Phase values are measured by a simple common path interferometer containing a birefringent crystal as beam splitter and a polarizer as beam combiner. This solution eliminates the sensitivity of traditional interferometric techniques to vibration, temperature variation or wavefront distortion. The proposed phase measurement method is applicable to the measurement of both spatially homogeneous and binary modulated states, thus the modulation transfer function and inter-pixel interference can also be studied. We demonstrate this technique by the measurement of a liquid crystal on silicon display. The resulting Jones matrix, as a function of displayed gray level, can be efficiently embedded in any numeric model of an optical system containing the analyzed spatial light modulator

  15. Balance of optical, structural, and electrical properties of textured liquid phase crystallized Si solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Preidel, V., E-mail: veit.preidel@helmholtz-berlin.de; Amkreutz, D.; Haschke, J.; Wollgarten, M.; Rech, B.; Becker, C. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Division Renewable Energy, Kekuléstr. 5, 12489 Berlin (Germany)

    2015-06-14

    Liquid phase crystallized Si thin-film solar cells on nanoimprint textured glass substrates exhibiting two characteristic, but distinct different surface structures are presented. The impact of the substrate texture on light absorption, the structural Si material properties, and the resulting solar cell performance is analyzed. A pronounced periodic substrate texture with a vertical feature size of about 1 μm enables excellent light scattering and light trapping. However, it also gives rise to an enhanced Si crystal defect formation deteriorating the solar cell performance. In contrast, a random pattern with a low surface roughness of 45 nm allows for the growth of Si thin films being comparable to Si layers on planar reference substrates. Amorphous Si/crystalline Si heterojunction solar cells fabricated on the low-roughness texture exhibit a maximum open circuit voltage of 616 mV and internal quantum efficiency peak values exceeding 90%, resulting in an efficiency potential of 13.2%. This demonstrates that high quality crystalline Si thin films can be realized on nanoimprint patterned glass substrates by liquid phase crystallization inspiring the implementation of tailor-made nanophotonic light harvesting concepts into future liquid phase crystallized Si thin film solar cells on glass.

  16. Electro-optical and dielectric properties of CdSe quantum dots and 6CHBT liquid crystals composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, U. B.; Pandey, M. B., E-mail: mbpandey@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Vikramajit Singh Sanatan Dharama College, Kanpur-208002 (India); Dhar, R; Pandey, A. S. [Centre of Material Sciences, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Allahabad, Allahabad-211002 (India); Kumar, S. [Raman Research Institute, C. V. Raman Avenue, Bangalore-560080 (India); Dabrowski, R. [Institute of Applied Sciences and Chemistry, Military University of Technology, 00-908-Warswa (Poland)

    2014-11-15

    We have prepared the composites of a room temperature nematic liquid crystal namely 4-(trans-4-n-hexylcyclohexyl) isothiocyanatobenzoate (6CHBT) and Cadmium Selenide Quantum Dots (CdSe-QDs) and investigated their electro-optical and dielectric properties. Effect of dispersion of CdSe-QDs on various electro-optical and display parameters of host liquid crystalline material have been studied. Physical parameters, such as switching threshold voltage and splay elastic constant have been altered drastically for composites. Dispersion of QDs in a liquid crystals medium destabilizes nematic ordering of the host and decreases the nematic-to-isotropic transition temperature.

  17. Electro-optical and dielectric properties of CdSe quantum dots and 6CHBT liquid crystals composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, U. B.; Pandey, M. B.; Dhar, R; Pandey, A. S.; Kumar, S.; Dabrowski, R.

    2014-01-01

    We have prepared the composites of a room temperature nematic liquid crystal namely 4-(trans-4-n-hexylcyclohexyl) isothiocyanatobenzoate (6CHBT) and Cadmium Selenide Quantum Dots (CdSe-QDs) and investigated their electro-optical and dielectric properties. Effect of dispersion of CdSe-QDs on various electro-optical and display parameters of host liquid crystalline material have been studied. Physical parameters, such as switching threshold voltage and splay elastic constant have been altered drastically for composites. Dispersion of QDs in a liquid crystals medium destabilizes nematic ordering of the host and decreases the nematic-to-isotropic transition temperature

  18. Manipulating lipid membrane architecture by liquid crystal-analog curvature elasticity (Presentation Recording)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sin-Doo

    2015-10-01

    Soft matters such as liquid crystals and biological molecules exhibit a variety of interesting physical phenomena as well as new applications. Recently, in mimicking biological systems that have the ability to sense, regulate, grow, react, and regenerate in a highly responsive and self-adaptive manner, the significance of the liquid crystal order in living organisms, for example, a biological membrane possessing the lamellar order, is widely recognized from the viewpoints of physics and chemistry of interfaces and membrane biophysics. Lipid bilayers, resembling cell membranes, provide primary functions for the transport of biological components of ions and molecules in various cellular activities, including vesicle budding and membrane fusion, through lateral organization of the membrane components such as proteins. In this lecture, I will describe how the liquid crystal-analog curvature elasticity of a lipid bilayer plays a critical role in developing a new platform for understanding diverse biological functions at a cellular level. The key concept is to manipulate the local curvature at an interface between a solid substrate and a model membrane. Two representative examples will be demonstrated: one of them is the topographic control of lipid rafts in a combinatorial array where the ligand-receptor binding event occurs and the other concerns the reconstitution of a ring-type lipid raft in bud-mimicking architecture within the framework of the curvature elasticity.

  19. Kissinger method applied to the crystallization of glass-forming liquids: Regimes revealed by ultra-fast-heating calorimetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Orava, J., E-mail: jo316@cam.ac.uk [Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS (United Kingdom); WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Greer, A.L., E-mail: alg13@cam.ac.uk [Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS (United Kingdom); WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan)

    2015-03-10

    Highlights: • Study of ultra-fast DSC applied to the crystallization of glass-forming liquids. • Numerical modeling of DSC traces at heating rates exceeding 10 orders of magnitude. • Identification of three regimes in Kissinger plots. • Elucidation of the effect of liquid fragility on the Kissinger method. • Modeling to study the regime in which crystal growth is thermodynamically limited. - Abstract: Numerical simulation of DSC traces is used to study the validity and limitations of the Kissinger method for determining the temperature dependence of the crystal-growth rate on continuous heating of glasses from the glass transition to the melting temperature. A particular interest is to use the wide range of heating rates accessible with ultra-fast DSC to study systems such as the chalcogenide Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} for which fast crystallization is of practical interest in phase-change memory. Kissinger plots are found to show three regimes: (i) at low heating rates the plot is straight, (ii) at medium heating rates the plot is curved as expected from the liquid fragility, and (iii) at the highest heating rates the crystallization rate is thermodynamically limited, and the plot has curvature of the opposite sign. The relative importance of these regimes is identified for different glass-forming systems, considered in terms of the liquid fragility and the reduced glass-transition temperature. The extraction of quantitative information on fundamental crystallization kinetics from Kissinger plots is discussed.

  20. Kissinger method applied to the crystallization of glass-forming liquids: Regimes revealed by ultra-fast-heating calorimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orava, J.; Greer, A.L.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Study of ultra-fast DSC applied to the crystallization of glass-forming liquids. • Numerical modeling of DSC traces at heating rates exceeding 10 orders of magnitude. • Identification of three regimes in Kissinger plots. • Elucidation of the effect of liquid fragility on the Kissinger method. • Modeling to study the regime in which crystal growth is thermodynamically limited. - Abstract: Numerical simulation of DSC traces is used to study the validity and limitations of the Kissinger method for determining the temperature dependence of the crystal-growth rate on continuous heating of glasses from the glass transition to the melting temperature. A particular interest is to use the wide range of heating rates accessible with ultra-fast DSC to study systems such as the chalcogenide Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 for which fast crystallization is of practical interest in phase-change memory. Kissinger plots are found to show three regimes: (i) at low heating rates the plot is straight, (ii) at medium heating rates the plot is curved as expected from the liquid fragility, and (iii) at the highest heating rates the crystallization rate is thermodynamically limited, and the plot has curvature of the opposite sign. The relative importance of these regimes is identified for different glass-forming systems, considered in terms of the liquid fragility and the reduced glass-transition temperature. The extraction of quantitative information on fundamental crystallization kinetics from Kissinger plots is discussed

  1. Incoherent quasielastic neutron scattering from plastic crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bee, M.; Amoureux, J.P.

    1980-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to present some applications of a method indicated by Sears in order to correct for multiple scattering. The calculations were performed in the particular case of slow neutron incoherent quasielastic scattering from organic plastic crystals. First, an exact calculation (up to second scattering) is compared with the results of a Monte Carlo simulation technique. Then, an approximation is developed on the basis of a rotational jump model which allows a further analytical treatment. The multiple scattering is expressed in terms of generalized structure factors (which can be regarded as self convolutions of first order structure factors taking into account the instrumental geometry) and lorentzian functions the widths of which are linear combinations of the jump rates. Three examples are given. Two of them correspond to powder samples while in the third we are concerned with the case of a single crystalline slab. In every case, this approximation is shown to be a good approach to the multiple scattering evaluation, its main advantage being the possibility of applying it without any preliminary knowledge of the correlation times for rotational jumps. (author)

  2. On asymptotic isotropy for a hydrodynamic model of liquid crystals

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Dai, M.; Feireisl, Eduard; Rocca, E.; Schimperna, G.; Schonbek, M.E.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 97, 3-4 (2016), s. 189-210 ISSN 0921-7134 Grant - others:European Research Council(XE) MATHEF(320078) Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : liquid crystal * Q-tensor description * long-time behavior Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.933, year: 2016 http://content.iospress.com/articles/asymptotic-analysis/asy1348

  3. Chiral HPLC and physical characterisation of orthoconic antiferroelectric liquid crystals

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vojtylová, Terézia; Żurowska, M.; Milewska, K.; Hamplová, Věra; Sýkora, D.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 43, č. 9 (2016), s. 1244-1250 ISSN 0267-8292 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LD14007; GA ČR GA15-02843S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : liquid crystals * chiral HPLC * orthoconic antiferroelectric LC Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation Impact factor: 2.661, year: 2016

  4. On asymptotic isotropy for a hydrodynamic model of liquid crystals

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Dai, M.; Feireisl, Eduard; Rocca, E.; Schimperna, G.; Schonbek, M.E.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 97, 3-4 (2016), s. 189-210 ISSN 0921-7134 Grant - others:European Research Council(XE) MATHEF(320078) Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : liquid crystal * Q-tensor description * long-time behavior Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.933, year: 2016 http://content.iospress.com/articles/asymptotic- analysis /asy1348

  5. The cone phase of liquid crystals: Triangular lattice of double-tilt ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    (figure 3) and analyse the mechanism which stabilizes it. Liquid crystals are soft ... There is no change in the smectic layer spacing along .... with the case of blue phases of cubic symmetry where the pitch of the helix provides a natural length ...

  6. Determination of phase transitions in a lyotropic liquid crystal by Positron Annihilation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castillo V, V.M.

    1994-01-01

    Positron annihilation technique was used to determine the phase transitions in a lyotropic liquid crystal, as a function of temperature. Seven different concentrations of the surfactant cetyldimethylethylammonium bromide, were studied. The liquid crystal studied consisted of a binary system, formed by the surfactant and water. Positron annihilation technique has a very high sensitivity toward changes in the microestructure, in condensed matter, this is useful in order to detect the temperatures at which phase transitions occur and the number of these, in a liquid crystalline system. Thus, phase transitions are related with changes occurred in the ortho-positronium parameters: lifetime (τ 3 ) and intensity of formation (I 3 ). Six different kinds of phases were detected in the system studied in a temperature range of 35 to 140 Centigrade degrees, those phases were: hexagonal, hexagonal-lamellae, lamellae, lamellae-cubic, nematic and anisotropic. Using optical microscopic the textures of these phases were assigned. (Author)

  7. Unconventional phase transitions in liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kats, E. I.

    2017-12-01

    According to classical textbooks on thermodynamics or statistical physics, there are only two types of phase transitions: continuous, or second-order, in which the latent heat L is zero, and first-order, in which L ≠ 0. Present-day textbooks and monographs also mention another, stand-alone type—the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, which exists only in two dimensions and shares some features with first- and second-order phase transitions. We discuss examples of non-conventional thermodynamic behavior (i.e., which is inconsistent with the theoretical phase transition paradigm now universally accepted). For phase transitions in smectic liquid crystals, mechanisms for nonconventional behavior are proposed and the predictions they imply are examined.

  8. Smectic liquid crystal cell with heat pulse and laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mash, D.H.

    1984-01-01

    A method of operating a homeotropically aligned smectic liquid crystal cell in which the cell is turned from a clear to a scattering state by illumination with an intense flash of light after which a focused laser beam is scanned across the layer to leave clear tracks where homeotropic alignment has been restored thereby producing a display providing, in projection, bright lines on a dark background

  9. Thermalization calorimetry: A simple method for investigating glass transition and crystallization of supercooled liquids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Jakobsen

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available We present a simple method for fast and cheap thermal analysis on supercooled glass-forming liquids. This “Thermalization Calorimetry” technique is based on monitoring the temperature and its rate of change during heating or cooling of a sample for which the thermal power input comes from heat conduction through an insulating material, i.e., is proportional to the temperature difference between sample and surroundings. The monitored signal reflects the sample’s specific heat and is sensitive to exo- and endothermic processes. The technique is useful for studying supercooled liquids and their crystallization, e.g., for locating the glass transition and melting point(s, as well as for investigating the stability against crystallization and estimating the relative change in specific heat between the solid and liquid phases at the glass transition.

  10. Electroclinic effect in a chiral carbosilane-terminated 5-phenylpyrimidine liquid crystal with 'de Vries-like' properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubert, Christopher P J; Müller, Carsten; Wand, Michael D; Giesselmann, Frank; Lemieux, Robert P

    2015-08-14

    The chiral carbosilane-terminated liquid crystal 2-[(2S,3S)-2,3-difluorohexyloxy]-5-[4-(12,12,14,14,16,16-hexamethyl-12,14,16-trisilaheptadecyloxy)phenyl]pyrimidine () undergoes a smectic A*-smectic C* phase transition with a maximum layer contraction of only 0.2%. It exhibits an electroclinic effect (ECE) comparable to that reported for the 'de Vries-like' liquid crystal and shows no appreciable optical stripe defects due to horizontal chevron formation.

  11. Effect of a Polymercaptan Material on the Electro-Optical Properties of Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Films

    OpenAIRE

    Yujian Sun; Cuihong Zhang; Le Zhou; Hua Fang; Jianhua Huang; Haipeng Ma; Yi Zhang; Jie Yang; Lan-Ying Zhang; Ping Song; Yanzi Gao; Jiumei Xiao; Fasheng Li; Kexuan Li

    2016-01-01

    Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films were prepared by the ultraviolet-light-induced polymerization of photopolymerizable monomers in nematic liquid crystal/chiral dopant/thiol-acrylate reaction monomer composites. The effects of the chiral dopant and crosslinking agents on the electro-optical properties of the PDLC films were systematically investigate. While added the chiral dopant S811 into the PDLC films, the initial off-state transmittance of the films was decreased. It was found...

  12. Crystal plasticity model for BCC iron atomistically informed by kinetics of correlated kinkpair nucleation on screw dislocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, Sankar; McDowell, David L.; Zhu, Ting

    2014-04-01

    The mobility of dislocation in body-centered cubic (BCC) metals is controlled by the thermally activated nucleation of kinks along the dislocation core. By employing a recent interatomic potential and the Nudged Elastic Band method, we predict the atomistic saddle-point state of 1/2 screw dislocation motion in BCC iron that involves the nucleation of correlated kinkpairs and the resulting double superkinks. This unique process leads to a single-humped minimum energy path that governs the one-step activation of a screw dislocation to move into the adjacent {110} Peierls valley, which contrasts with the double-humped energy path and the two-step transition predicted by other interatomic potentials. Based on transition state theory, we use the atomistically computed, stress-dependent kinkpair activation parameters to inform a coarse-grained crystal plasticity flow rule. Our atomistically-informed crystal plasticity model quantitatively predicts the orientation dependent stress-strain behavior of BCC iron single crystals in a manner that is consistent with experimental results. The predicted temperature and strain-rate dependencies of the yield stress agree with experimental results in the 200-350 K temperature regime, and are rationalized by the small activation volumes associated with the kinkpair-mediated motion of screw dislocations.

  13. Micro-structural evolution in plastically deformed crystalline materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nellemann, Christopher

    predictions for the two models to be obtained. Application of the two models to the pure shear boundary value problem is used to characterize plastic behavior, which also allows for the identification of inherent properties through closed form expressions. Single crystal Monazite containing a void is studied......Two rate-independent strain gradient crystal plasticity models are developed and applied in numerical studies designed to identify the properties inherent to model predictions of plastic deformation. The two models incorporate gradients of slip into the framework of conventional crystal plasticity...... in order to model size-dependent plasticity effects. This gradient dependence is achieved by relating a slip measure which combines both slip and their gradients to a shear hardening curve, as commonly done in conventional plasticity theories. Finite element codes are implemented which allow for numerical...

  14. Growth and dissolution of liquid 3He droplets in solid 4He matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gan'shin, A.N.; Grigor'ev, V.N.; Majdanov, V.A.; Penzev, A.A.; Rudavskij, Eh.Ya.; Rybalko, A.S.

    2000-01-01

    The phase separation kinetics of solid 3 He - 4 He mixtures was investigated using pressure measurements in the conditions when the two-phase system formed consists of concentrated phase liquid droplets (almost pure 3 He) in the dilute phase crystal matrix (almost pure 4 He). It is shown that the liquid droplet growth may be described by a sum of two exponential processes with small and large time contacts as cooling down step by step. This is a result of the strong influence of strains which appear in the crystal at the phase separation due to a large difference in molar volume between the phases and probably give rise to plastic deformation of the matrix and to non-equilibrium 3 He concentration in it. The 3 He atom transfer occurs only to the extent of strain relaxation. It is found that the cyclic growth and dissolution of the liquid droplets affect the crystal quality and lead to pressure increase. The coexistence of liquid and solid phases in droplets is speculated to be possible

  15. High Thermal Rectifications Using Liquid Crystals Confined into a Conical Frustum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, José Guilherme; Fumeron, Sébastien; Moraes, Fernando; Pereira, Erms

    2018-05-01

    In recent years, phononics, that studies thermal analogs of electronic devices, has become an important subject due to the need for better use of energy resources influenced by growing demand. On developing of these analogs, for example, thermal diodes, a successful route is the design of nanostructured materials (e.g., carbon nanotubes). However, these materials entail increased costs due to the use of complex techniques/equipments, while alternative cheaper materials present nearly comparable efficiency. In this work, we investigate how a thermal diode made by an alternative material (nematic liquid crystal), confined in a conical frustum capillary, can be optimized to achieve high rectifications. In such capillary tube, the thermotropic nematic liquid crystal 5CB produces an axially anisotropic defect called escaped radial disclination. With the molecular director field of such structure, we obtain the thermal conductivity tensor of the diode and solve the steady-state regime of Laplace and Fourier equations using the finite element method. We observed the anisotropy of the system with the non-linear temperature dependences of the molecular thermal conductivities that rectify the heat flux at rates up to 1266% at room temperature. Studying the sensitivity of the system with respect to shape and molecular and thermal aspects, we found that the improved thermal diode is suitable to be miniaturized and applied on well-determined areas, and it is robust against variations of the inward pumped heat flux. This work contributes to the usage of liquid crystals in non-display devices, having potential applications on controlling the heat flux through surfaces.

  16. Biaxiality in Nematic and Smectic Liquid Crystals. Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Satyendra [Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States); Li, Quan [Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States); Srinivasarao, Mohan [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Agra-Kooijman, Dena M. [Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States); Rey, Alejandro [McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada)

    2017-01-24

    During the award period, the project team explored several phenomena in a diverse group of soft condensed matter systems. These include understanding of the structure of the newly discovered twist-bend nematic phase, solving the mystery of de Vries smectic phases, probing of interesting associations and defect structures in chromonic liquid crystalline systems, dispersions of ferroelectric nanoparticles in smectic liquid crystals, investigations of newly synthesized light sensitive and energy harvesting materials with highly desirable transport properties. Our findings are summarized in the following report followed by a list of 36 publications and 37 conference presentations. We achieved this with the support of Basic Sciences Division of the US DOE for which we are thankful.

  17. Liquid crystal-based Mueller matrix spectral imaging polarimetry for parameterizing mineral structural organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gladish, James C; Duncan, Donald D

    2017-01-20

    Herein, we discuss the remote assessment of the subwavelength organizational structure of a medium. Specifically, we use spectral imaging polarimetry, as the vector nature of polarized light enables it to interact with optical anisotropies within a medium, while the spectral aspect of polarization is sensitive to small-scale structure. The ability to image these effects allows for inference of spatial structural organization parameters. This work describes a methodology for revealing structural organization by exploiting the Stokes/Mueller formalism and by utilizing measurements from a spectral imaging polarimeter constructed from liquid crystal variable retarders and a liquid crystal tunable filter. We provide results to validate the system and then show results from measurements on a mineral sample.

  18. Alkyltributylphosphonium chloride ionic liquids: synthesis, physicochemical properties and crystal structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adamová, Gabriela; Gardas, Ramesh L; Nieuwenhuyzen, Mark; Puga, Alberto V; Rebelo, Luís Paulo N; Robertson, Allan J; Seddon, Kenneth R

    2012-07-21

    A series of alkyltributylphosphonium chloride ionic liquids, prepared from tributylphosphine and the respective 1-chloroalkane, C(n)H(2n+1)Cl (where n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 or 14), is reported. This work is a continuation of an extended series of tetraalkylphosphonium ionic liquids, where the focus is on the variability of n and its impact on the physical properties, such as melting points/glass transitions, thermal stability, density and viscosity. Experimental density and viscosity data were interpreted using QPSR and group contribution methods and the crystal structure of propyl(tributyl)phosphonium chloride is detailed.

  19. Nonlinear Raman spectroscopy of liquid crystals: orientational alignment and switching behaviour in a ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grofcsik, Andras

    Picosecond inverse Raman spectroscopy has been employed to probe the alignment behaviour and switching characteristics of a 6 mum thick ferroelectric liquid crystal based on a host mixture of fluorinated phenyl biphenylcarboxylates and a chiral dopant. Optical bistability is observed in the Raman signal on application of dc electric fields of opposite polarity. For particular polarities of the applied field, the Raman signals display a cos4theta dependence on the angle of rotation around the beam direction. Reorientational rate constants of 300 mus and 590 mus are observed for the aromatic core at the high-voltage limit for the rise and decay of the 1600 cm-1 Raman signal on application of a switching ac electric field.

  20. Simultaneous alignment and dispersion of carbon nanotubes with lyotropic liquid crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lagerwall, J.P.F.; Scalia, G.; Haluska, M.; Dettlaff-Weglikowska, U.; Giesselmann, F.; Roth, S.

    2006-01-01

    We demonstrate that single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can be macroscopically aligned by means of templating in a lyotropic nematic liquid crystal (LC), a self-assembling anisotropic fluid with orientational but no translational order. The CNTs spontaneously adopt the alignment of the host, as we