Shear-flow instabilities in non-flow-aligning nematic liquid crystals

Abstract
This paper investigates theoretically the stability of non-flow-aligning nematics in simple shear flow by analyzing the relevant continuum equations. With the aid of numerical techniques, it proves possible to predict thresholds for instability to perturbations both within and out of the shear plane, based on the full equations without approximations. The results obtained are consistent with corresponding experimental studies.