ISSN:
1089-7623
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
,
Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
Notes:
Characteristics of a liquid crystal system, comprised of a shear sensitive cholesteric monomer liquid crystal thin-film coated on a liquid crystal polymer substrate, are described. The system provides stable Grandjean texture, a desirable feature for shear stress measurements using selective reflection from the monomer liquid crystal helix structure. Impingement of gas or air flow on the monomer liquid crystal free surface changes the wavelength of the selective reflection for an incident white light from red towards blue with increase in the rate of gas flow. The contrast of the selectively reflected light improves considerably by providing a thin (∼5 μm) black coating at the monomer-polymer interface. The coating thickness is such that the steric interactions are still sufficiently strong to maintain Grandjean texture. For a small angle of incidence (∼15°) of a monochromatic light, the measurement of the reflected light intensity normal to the monomer-polymer liquid crystal interface enables us to determine the wavelength (λs) for selective reflection as a function of the gas flow differential pressure (Δp) applied in the plane of the interface. In the range of the Δp (0–100 mmHg) used in the present studies, the variation of λs with Δp is linear with a slope ∼2 nm/mmHg. Furthermore, the shear stress effects are reversible unlike for monomer liquid crystal−metal systems used so far for flow visualization on wind-tunnel model surfaces. Thus the present system offers a suitable method for direct on-line measurement of shear stress field from measurement of λs for an incident white light.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1142963
