The role of the anchoring conditions in the electro rheological behavior of a nematic constrained by two coaxial cylinders and submitted by a pressure drop

We study a nematic liquid crystal (LC) filling the region between two coaxial cylinders subjected to the simultaneous action of both a pressure gradient applied parallel to the axis of the cylinders and a radial low frequency electric field. For the LC 4'-n-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (5CB), we consider soft anchoring boundary conditions to obtain the configuration of the director and the velocity profile and the pressure gradient for nonslip boundary conditions. Finally, we calculate the effective viscosity, the first normal stress difference, and the dragging forces on the cylinders.