2001-11-28
10:15 at ML H43

Flows of liquid crystals and granular materials - Similiarities and differences

Harald Ehrentraut

Institute of Mechanics, Darmstadt University of Technology

In flow experiments liquid crystals and form-anisotropic granular materials behave astoundingly alike, although the particle scales differ by more than 6 orders. We examined channelized flows of rice and lentils and observed ordering of the grains as well as flow alignment. Since both effects are also observed for nematic liquid crystals, differences and similiarities of both material classes can be discussed. We proprose a Leslie theory for this kind of granular flow, which complies with the experimental observations. The limits of the theory are shown and some possible enhancements of the theoretical modell are discussed.