Eur. Phys. J.

E (2019) 42: 69
DOI 10.1140/epje/i2019-11832-9
THE EUROPEAN
PHYSICAL JOURNAL E
Regular Article

Electro-osmosis and flexo-electricity in the dowser texture

Pawel Pieranski1,a and Maria Helena Godinho2

1
Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Sud, Bât. 510, 91405 Orsay, France
2
CENIMAT, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia - Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829 - 516 Caparica, Portugal

Received 24 March 2019

Published online: 3 June 2019
c EDP Sciences / Società Italiana di Fisica / Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature,
2019

One of the authors (PP) dedicates this work

to the memory of Alfred Saupe.

Abstract. Due to its low symmetry, the long-lived pseudo-planar texture, dubbed “the dowser texture”,
has a flexo-electric spontaneous polarisation Pf e . Being degenerated, the dowser texture is easily aligned
by the electric torque Γ = Pf e × E acting on P. The dowser texture can also be aligned by Poiseuille
flows driven by electro-osmosis. The hydrodynamic torques due to the electro-osmotic flows are linear in
E like the electrical one. It is shown that in 5CB the electro-osmotic flows can alter measurements of the
flexo-electric polarisation.

1 Introduction in fig. 1(a). Due to its degeneracy with respect to rota-

1.1 Electro-osmosis
The concept of electro-osmosis refers to flows driven by
forces exerted by an electric field on charges in the elec-
tric double layer at walls of a channel filled with a liquid.
When the same forces drive motions of particles dispersed
in a liquid, the electro-phoresis is invoked. These two elec-
trokinetic phenomena are of great importance in rapidly
growing fields of micro- and nanofluidics.
In most of experiments and applications the liquid
phase is isotropic. However, it has been pointed out
recently that the electrokinetic phenomena occurring in
nematic liquid crystals have many original aspects [1–6].
One of them is that orientations of molecules referenced
by the director field n are sensitive to electrokinetic flows.
Due to the optical anisotropy of nematics changes in
the n field can be detected in polarised light. Onother
original aspect of electrokinetic phenomena in nematics
is due the anisotropy of the electric conductivity which
in inhomogeneous director field n(r) leads to the space
separation of charges and finally results in a new kind of
electrokinetic flows.
Electrokinetic experiments with nematic liquid crys-
tals are usually made with initially uniformly oriented lay-
ers contained between glass slides. Here we will report on
experiments made with the dowser texture [7,8] depicted
a
e-mail: pawel.pieranski@u-psud.fr
tions around the z-axis, the dowser texture behaves as a
very sensible probe (weathercock-like) able to detect and
indicate direction of arbitrarily slow Poiseuille flows. In
the present study we use this remarkable property for the
detection of Poiseuille flows induced by electro-osmosis.
1.2 The search for flexo-electric polarisation in the
dowser texture
The interest for electro-osmotic flows in the dowser texture
stems from experiments reported in ref. [9] which were
tailored for detection of the flexo-electric polarisation in
the dowser texture. These experiments were made with
the aim to handle nematic monopoles by electric fields of
appropriated geometry. In this search we were inspired by
Giomi et al. [10] who proposed recently a micro-fluidical
method of handling monopoles.
The setup used for the detection of the flexo-electric
polarisation is depicted in fig. 2. The dowser texture is
produced in a nematic droplet, held by capillarity in a
thin gap between a lens and a glass slide, by a method
described in all details previously [9,8,11,12]. The glass
slide is equipped with ITO electrodes of different shapes
allowing to submit the dowser texture to electric fields.
Using symmetry considerations formulated for the first
time by Meyer [13] and reformulated by de Gennes [14] we
expected to detect the flexo-electric polarisation P
π
Pf e = Pf e d with Pf e = (e3 − e1 ) (1)
2
Page 2 of 15 Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69

z Γz = (2α2/π)vosinψr crankshaft
ω
c δ(t)
→
n
→ ng
n σ spri translation stage
→
d
x ϕ θ y lever
→ → ψr
d v
slide
C2
- →
E + ITO
h
a b c
lens
b
Γz = -PfeEsinψe-(εoεah/2)E2sin2ψe Γz ≈ -π(K/h)gsinψc

translation stage
e s(t)
ss slid
gla
ible
flex
→
→ α≈⎪g⎪ →
d → d
h ψe P ψc
→ →→∆
E g= h
ITO electrodes
a lens
d e
Fig. 1. Tropisms of the dowser texture. (a) The metastable ITO 3 ITO 3
ITO 2
dowser texture characterised by its 2D unitary vector order 0.3 mm
parameter —the dowser field d = (cos ϕ, sin ϕ). It is degen- 0.3 mm ITO 2 0.3 mm ITO 4 ITO 2

0.
erate with respect to rotations around the z-axis. The dowser 0.3 mm

3
m
field d is parallel to the twofold symmetry axis C2 of the dowser ITO 1
d1 d2 d3

texture. (b) The ground state homeotropic texture. (c) Weath-
ercock behavior or rheotropism: orientation of the dowser field
d by a Poiseuille flow v. (d) Electrotropism: orientation of the
dowser field by the torque exerted by the electric field E on the
polarisation P = Pf e d + (o a h/2)(E · d)d. (e) Cuneitropism:
orientation of the dowser field d by a thickness gradient g.
m
ITO 1 ITO 1
Fig. 2. Setup: (a) general perspective view, (b) cross-section
of the nematic droplet squeezed between the lens and the glass
slide equipped with ITO electrodes located at its lower surface,
(c) crankshaft coupled to a stepping motor and mounted on a
translation stage, (d) systems of ITO electrodes.

collinear with the twofold axis C2 and oriented in the di-

rection parallel or antiparallel to the dowser field d —the
unitary vector field defined graphically in fig. 1(a). For
e3 − e1 > 0, Pf e is parallel to d as shown in fig. 1(d).
In practice, we were looking, using polarised light, for
deformations of the dowser field d(x, y) submitted to the
electric field E. This deformation is driven by the torque
Γ = (Pf e + Pin ) × E
in which
Pf e = Pf e d
is the spontaneous flexo-electric polarisation and
Pin = o a h(E · d)d
is the anisotropic part of the induced polarisation.
When the electric field E is horizontal (parallel to the
xy-plane) and makes with dowser field d an angle ψe , the
torque (3) can be written as
Γz = −Pf e E sin ψe − (o a h/2)E 2 sin 2ψe .
With the aim to detect the flexo-electric polarisation we
used two geometries of the dowser field.
In the simplest case represented in fig. 3(a), an alter-
nating field E = [Eo cos(2πf t), 0, 0] (with Eo = −Uo /lg )
was applied to a radial dowser field. In the narrow gap
between the ITO electrodes, the dowser field d = (0, 1, 0)
is almost homogeneous and orthogonal to E so that the
second term of eq. (5) vanishes. In the limit of weak fields
E, we detected oscillations of the dowser field which in
(2) terms of the angle ψe have been expressed as
ψe ≈ π/2 + δψo cos(2πf t − π/2) (6)
(3)
with δψo = CEo .
In MBBA we have found that the dowser field d tended
(4) to take the orientation opposite to the electric field (C
positive). This means that in MBBA the flexo-electric po-
larisation Pf e = Pf e d is antiparallel to d, or using ex-
pression (1), that the coefficient e3 − e1 is negative in
agreement with experiments of Dozov et al. [15]. As to
the phase retardation of π/2 with respect to the driving
(5) torque (eq. (6)) it was expected for a homogeneous dowser
field because in such a case the elastic torque can be ne-
glected so that the driving electric torque is opposed only
by the viscous one ∼ ∂ψe /∂t.
Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69
ITO2
U(t)
δψe d
y x
→ → → →
E E d // g
ITO1
a ITO 1
x
ITO2
U(t)
ITO1
b vP out outside the gap.
Fig. 3. Two dowser textures used in the search for the
flexo-electric polarisation. (a) Radial texture generated by
cuneitropism in the plane/shere geometry. (b) Dowser texture
wound up by elliptical flows using the method described in
ref. [12].
In experiments with 5CB, we have found that the
dowser field tended to take the orientation of the elec-
tric field. We have thus concluded that in 5CB the flexo-
electric polarisation Pf e is parallel to d as depicted in
fig. 1(d) or, in terms of the definition (1), that e3 − e1 is
positive. This result was in disagreement with the work of
Link et al. [16] who found that in 5CB e3 − e1 is negative
like in MBBA.
1.3 The aim of the present work
In ref. [9] we did not discuss in more details this discrep-
ancy. As we will see below, it could be due to the electro-
osmotic flow inside the gap between electrodes (see fig. 4)
which can exert a rheotropic torque on the dowser field
(see fig. 1). In the case represented in fig. 4, the flow in-
side the gap can be seen as a superposition of a plug flow of
velocity veo = ceo E and of a Poiseuille flow with the max-
imal velocity vP in in the opposite direction (for a detailed
discussion see sect. 2.5). When ceo < 0, the Poiseuille flow
inside the gap tends to align the dowser field d in the
direction of the electric field E.
As the velocity of the Poiseuille flow due to the electro-
osmosis vP in is linear in E, the corresponding rheotropic
torque (see ref. [12])
2α2
Γrt = − d × vP in (7)
π
Page 3 of 15
ITO 1
→
veo ITO 2
a lg ≈ 0.3 - 1.0 mm
z
→
veo
h ≈ 5-20 μm
→ →
→
vPout vPin E x
gap
b
Fig. 4. Poiseuille flows induced by electro-osmosis in the one-
gap system of electrodes. (a) Flow stream lines in the gap be-
tween electrodes and in the adjacent field-free areas below elec-
trodes. (b) Flow profiles. Inside the gap, the flow can be seen as
superposition of a plug flow of velocity veo and of a Poiseuille
flow vP in in opposite direction. By continuity, the total flow
rate inside the gap is equal to the rate of the Poiseuille flow
can be written as
Γrt = αeo d × E. (8)
This torque is superposed on the direct electric torque
Pf e d × E and the sign of total torque
Γtot = (αeo + Pf e )d × E (9)
depends then on the sum αeo + Pf e .
The aim of the present work is to detect flows driven
by the electro-osmosis and to evaluate their importance
measured by the ratio αeo /Pf e .
2 Experiments with a wound up dowser
texture in 5CB
Electro-osmotic flows were detected first in experiments
performed with 5CB on the dowser texture wound up
by elliptical flows (see fig. 5). In the search for the flexo-
electric polarisation and electro-osmotic flows, the wound
up dowser texture offers two advantages:
1) all possible orientations of the dowser field with re-
spect to the electric field are represented and tested
simultaneously;
2) in a tightly wound up texture, characterized by the
wave vector |grad ϕ| = q = 2π/Λ, the relaxation time
τ = γef f /(Kef f q 2 ) of the order of a few seconds is
much shorter than the period T = 50 s of the applied
AC voltage.
Page 4 of 15 Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69

Fig. 5. Action of the electric field on a wound up dowser texture in 5CB. (a) System of isogyres characteristic of a wound
up dowser texture in quasi-equilibrium. (b) Systems of isogyres of the wound up dowser texture perturbed by the electric field
generated by the ITO electrodes at t = t2 , t3 and t4 defined in (c). (c) Spatio-temporal cross-section extracted from a video
along the dashed line defined in (a). (d) Color-thickness scale.

2.1 One-gap system of electrodes

Let us note that after the winding process (described in
details in ref. [12]), the wound up dowser field relaxes as
a whole (unwindes) slowly on a time scale of a few hours.
As experiments with the electric field are much shorter,
one can consider that they were made on a texture in
quasi-equilibrium.
First experiments were made with the one-gap system of
electrodes. The field-induced deformation of the wound up
dowser texture has been recorded on a video and a spatio-
temporal cross-section along the dashed line defined in
fig. 5(a) has been extracted from it.
Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69 Page 5 of 15

Fig. 6. Deformation of a wound up dowser texture in 5CB by a strong electric field. (a) Initial texture, the dowser field is
represented by white arrows. (b) Pictures of deformed textures taken at time t = t1 , . . . , t5 defined in (c). (c) Spatio-temporal
cross-section taken along the line AB defined in (a). (d) Theoretical pattern calculated from eq. (26). (e) Spatio-temporal
cross-section taken along the line CD defined in (a) (E = 0 here!). (f) Theoretical pattern calculated numerically using eq. (26).

This cross-section shown in fig. 5(c) is made of five
sequences labelled as “0 V”, “5 V 20 mHz”, etc. The first
sequence “0 V” corresponds to the slow spontaneous elas-
tic unwinding of the texture in the absence of the electric
field. The picture in fig. 5(a) has been taken at t1 = 223 s
during this sequence. The next three sequences show the
evolution of the isogyres’ pattern upon low frequency
f = 20 mHz triangular and square AC voltages of dif-
ferent amplitudes applied to the ITO electrodes. In the
last sequence the frequency of the 8 V AC voltage is much
higher, f = 2 kHz.
Other details of experiments with the one-gap system
of electrodes are shown in fig. 6.
Page 6 of 15 Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69

The isogyres’ pattern of the initial quasi-equilibrium y

wound up dowser field is shown in fig. 6(a). It has
been submitted to the electric field of intensity E =
19 V/0.3 mm, i.e. about two times stronger than previ-
ously. Polarity of this field was reversed several times →
E x
by hand as shown in spatio-temporal cross-sections in
figs. 6(c) and (e) which were taken, respectively, along
lines AB and CD defined in fig. 6(b-t1). In fig. 6(b)
we show pictures of the isogyres’ pattern taken at t =
a ITO 1 gap ITO 2
t1 , . . . , t5 .
z

2.2 Deformation of the isogyres’ pattern inside the gap →

veo gap
ITO 1 ITO 2

The deformation of the isogyres’ pattern inside the gap x

can be described as follows:
1) They can be seen as composed of π walls (see figs. 6(b-
t3) and (b-t5)) which are created by the action of the b lg ≈ 0.3 - 1.0 mm

torque due to the dielectric anisotropy which varies z

as sin 2ψ. Remark: In this experiment the dielectric
anisotropy torque proportional to E 2 remains constant ITO 1 →
veo gap
while torques linear in E, due to the flexo-electric po-
h ≈ 5-20 μm

larisation and electro-osmosis, change sign upon rever- →

→
vPin
→
E x
sals of the polarity. vPout
2) Pairs of these π walls are assembled into 2π walls (see
figs. 6(b-t2) and (b-t4)) by the action of flexo-electric
and electro-osmotic torques linear in E which vary as c
sin ψ.
3) The spatio-temporal cross-section in figs. 6(c) and (e)
show that upon reversals of the polarity, the 2π walls
split into pairs of π walls moving in opposite direc-
tions (see also figs. 6(b-t2) and (b-t3) or figs. 6(b-t4) d
and (b-t5)). p

2.3 Deformation of the isogyres’ pattern outside the gap Δp x

The isogyres’ patterns in figs. 6(b) are perturbed with re-
spect to their quasi-equilibrium configuration also in field-
free areas above ITO electrodes. Here, the perturbed iso-
gyres’ patterns in figs. 6(b-t2) and (b-t4) can be described
in terms of 2π walls separated by stripes in which the
dowser field d is aligned in the direction of the Poiseuille
flow vP out driven by electro-osmosis.
After the reversal of the electric field (see fig. 6(b-t4))
the system of isogyres in the field-free area is reorganized
into new 2π walls because the direction of the Poiseuille
flow vP out is reversed. Dynamics of the formation and
reorganization of the 2π walls is well visible in fig. 6(e)
in the spatio-temporal cross-section taken along the CD
line defined in fig. 6(b-t1). Remark : This reorganisation,
by contradistinction with the one inside the gap, cannot
be interpreted in terms of motion of π walls resulting from
splitting of 2π walls.
2.4 Poiseuille flows driven by electro-osmosis
rd
e
Fig. 7. Electro-osmosis in the one-gap system of electrodes.
(a) Isogyres’ system perturbed by the electric field in the exper-
iment made with 5CB. (b) Flow stream lines. (c) Flow profiles
inside and outside the gap. (d) General view of the nematic
droplet squeezed between the lens and the glass slide. (e) Vari-
ation of pressure across the droplet. The pressure difference Δp
is driven by the electro-osmotic flow veo inside the gap.
electro-osmotic flows driven by the electric field acting on
mobile negative charges in the double layers of thickness
λ adjacent to glass surfaces. When λ is much smaller then
the local thickness h, the flow inside the gap can be repre-
sented as a superposition of a plug flow, in −x-direction,
of velocity veo and of a Poiseuille flow in x-direction of
maximal velocity vP in . As the global flow rates Q outside
and inside the gap must be the same, one has

The most plausible origin of Poiseuille flows in the field- 3 3

free areas (see fig. 7), of maximal velocity vP out , involves Q= vP out h = veo h + vP in h. (10)
4 4
Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69 Page 7 of 15

If ρ is the ratio between absolute values of maximal veloc- and

ities of Poiseuille flows: 4
vP out ≈ Q. (20)
3ho
|vP in |
ρ= , (11) The ratio ρ between the amplitudes of Poiseuille flows
|vP out |
inside and outside the gap is thus
then one has √
4 1 |vP in | 2Rho
vP out = veo (12) ρ= ≈ 1.2 ≈ 4.4. (21)
31+ρ |vP out | lg
and
4 ρ
vP in = − veo . (13) 2.5 Role of the electro-osmosis
31+ρ
The value of the sharing ratio ρ depends on the geometry 2.5.1 Equation of motion of the dowser field
of the flow channel and can be estimated as follows.
Velocities of Poiseuille flows are proportional to pres- For the interpretation of the deformation of the dowser
sure gradients dp/dx inside and outside the gap. Let Δp field d = [cos ϕ(y, t), sin ϕ(y, t)] in the experiment with
be the pressure difference between the left and right ex- the one-gap configuration of electrodes we will use the
tremities of the gap (see fig. 7(e)). Inside the gap of width equation of balance of torques (per unit area) acting on
lg = 0.3 mm, the local thickness is almost constant and the dowser field:
equal to the minimal spacing between the lens (of radius   
of curvature R = 107 mm) and the glass slide ho ≈ 6 μm. ∂ϕ
−γef f h + v · grad ϕ + Kef f hϕ + Γi = 0,
The pressure gradient is therefore ∂t i=e,c,r
  (22)
dp
≈ −Δp/lg (14) in which the first two terms are due, respectively, to the
dx in rotational viscosity and to the elasticity. The third term
and represents the sum of torques due to
h2o Δp 1) the flexo-electric polarisation and the dielectric
vP in ≈ . (15)
8η lg anisotropy:
Outside the gap, the local thickness increases with the
Γe = −Pf e E sin ϕ − (o a h/2)E 2 sin 2ϕ; (23)
distance x from the centre as h(x) = ho + x2 /(2R). As the
global flow rate Q = (3/4)vP out h must be conserved and 2) cuneitropism:
vP out = −(h2 /8η)(dp/dx)out we can write πK
  Γc − g sin ϕ; (24)
dp 32 η 1 h
=− x2
Q. (16) 3) rheotropism:
dx out 3 h3o (1 + 2Rh )3
o 2α2
Γr = vo sin ϕ. (25)
For Q < 0 (flow in −x-direction), the pressure gradient π
is positive in the left half of the droplet as depicted in
fig. 7(e). The pressure rise Δp/2 from the left edge of the 2.5.2 Numerical solutions
droplet at x = −rd to the left edge of the gap at x = −lg /2
is obtained by integration In numerical calculations we will use the dimensionless
 version of these equations
Δp 32 η  −l̃g /2
1
=− 2Rho Q 3 dx̃. (17)
2 3 h3o −r̃d (1 + x̃2 ) ∂ϕ ∂ 2 ϕ
− + − β1 (t̃) sin ϕ − β2 (t̃) sin 2ϕ = 0, (26)
∂ t̃ ∂ ỹ 2
The result of √ integration depends on the characteristic
length ζ = 2Rho defining dimensionless variables x̃ = in which
x/ζ, r̃d = rd /ζ and ˜lg = lg /ζ. In the case of the experiment ỹ = qy (27)
represented in figs. 6 and 7 one has ho = 0.006 mm, R = and
107 mm so that ζ ≈ 1.1 mm. With rd = 4 mm and lg /2 = t̃ = t/τ with τ =
γef f
. (28)
0.15 mm after integration one obtains Kef f q 2
Δp 32 η  The spatio-temporal cross-section plotted in fig. 6(d) has
≈ −0.6 Rho Q. (18) been calculated with dimensionless coefficients β1 = ±5,
2 3 h3o
β2 = 3 and τ = 4.6 s chosen for the best fit of the experi-
Using eqs. (15) and (16) we obtain mental cross-section in fig. 6(c) taken along the line A-B
√ inside the gap. The best adjustment of the cross-section
4 2Rho in fig. 6(e) taken along the line C-D ouside the gap was
vP in ≈ −1.2 Q (19) obtained with β1 = ∓5, β2 = 0 and τ = 4.6 s.
3ho lg
Page 8 of 15
The width ξ of the 2π walls in isogyres pattern is re-
lated to the dimensionless coefficient β1 through β1 =
(qξ)−2 . Inside the gap it results from the balance between
the torque Γtot = (αeo + Pf e )E sin ϕ (eq. (9)) and the
elastic torque Kef f (d2 ϕ/dy 2 )
 
 Kef f  U is then applied between the electrode ITO2 and the
2
ξin =  . (29)
(αeo + Pf e )E 
Similarly, outside the gap, one has
 
 Kef f 
2 
ξout =  . (30)
(αeo /ρ)E 
The ratio between these widths
 2   up dowser texture. First, the total potential difference
ξout  αeo + Pf e 

= ρ  (31)
ξin αeo  versed potential difference U = −19.2 V is applied for 43 s
depends on the flexo-electric polarisation.
2.5.3 Reevaluation of the flexo-electric polarisation in 5CB
If the polarisation was neglected and Poiseuille flows vP in
and vP out were acting alone on the wound up dowser tex-
ture, one would expect, with ρ = 4.4, that the width ξin
of the 2π walls inside the gap should be about two times
smaller than outside the gap. This obviously is not the
case in the pattern of fig. 7(a) where these widths are
approximatively the same. In numerical calculations, the
width of walls is related to the fitting parameter by the re-
lation β1 = (qξ)−2 . As the same value of |β1 | = 5 has been
found inside and ouside the gap we can set ξout /ξin = 1
in eq. (31) and we obtain
ρ connection (see fig. 9) the sequence of potentials U (t) was
αeo ≈ ≈ −1.29Pf e . (32)
1−ρ
The total torque (eq. (9)) acting on the dowser texture is
thus
Γtot ≈ −0.29Pf e d × E. (33)
Experiments with 5CB [9] have shown that the appar-
ent flexo-electric polarisation Papp = −0.29Pf e is about
+4.2 pC m−1 so that Pf e ≈ −14 pC m−1 . This new deter-
mination of Pf e is now in a reasonable agreement with the
result of Link et al. [16] Pf e = −11 pC m−1 .
2.6 Two-gaps system of electrodes
With the aim to confirm the existence of Poiseuille flows
driven by electro-osmosis we performed experiments with
the “two-gaps” system of electrodes which allows to con-
trol the electric field independently in the two gaps. Like
resistors, the two gaps can be connected either in parallel
or in series. In the series case shown in fig. 8, the poten-
tial difference U is applied between electrodes ITO1 and
ITO3 while the electrode ITO2 is not connected (float-
ing). In the conductive regime, we can consider the two
Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69
gaps as two resistors connected in series. When the two
gaps are identical, the potential at the electrode ITO2 is
U/2 and the electric fields in the two gaps have the same
intensities E = −(U/2)/lg and the same directions.
In the parallel case shown in fig. 9, the electrodes ITO1
and ITO3 are connected together. The potential difference
ITO1+ITO2 pair. In this configuration, directions of the
electric field are opposite in the two gaps: E = ±U/lg .
2.6.1 Gaps connected in series
The experiment in the series configuration (see fig. 8)
starts with U = 0, i.e. with the quasi-equilibrium wound
U = +19.2 V is applied for 25 s. After that, the re-
and finally U is set to 0. The corresponding evolution of
the dowser field is well visible in spatio-temporal cross-
sections in fig. 8(b). Let us remind that effective potential
difference applied to each gap is U = ±9.6 V.
In this case of gaps connected in series, the field-
induced deformation of the isogyres pattern is identical
in the two gaps, as expected (see fig. 8). From the anal-
ysis of the spatio-temporal cross-sections CS1, CS3 and
CS5 in fig. 8(b) one can infer that the Poiseuille flows v
(yellow arrows), driven by electro-osmosis in the two gaps,
have the same direction (opposite to the electric field) in
all field-free areas adjacent to the two gaps.
2.6.2 Gaps connected in parallel
In the experiment with the parallel configuration of gaps
similar to the series case: 0 V for 20 s, 9.6 V for 20 s, −9.6 V
for 33 s and finally 0 V.
From the spatio-temporal cross-sections in fig. 9(b) one
can infer that the field-induced deformation of the isogyres
pattern in the two gaps is shifted spatially by π, as ex-
pected (see fig. 9(b)). The pattern of Poiseuille flows in
field-free areas is more complex than in the series case be-
cause plug-like electro-osmotic flows in the two gaps have
now opposite directions.
2.6.3 Stagnation point, convection of the distorsion
At first sight, one could think that in the field-free area
ITO2, Poiseuille flows driven by such opposite electro-
osmotic flows should cancel each other. Actually, this is
not the case because Poiseuille flows vP can change their
direction provided that the incompressibility condition div
(vP h) = 0 is satisfied.
Let us note that the area ITO2 is fed simultaneously
by electro-osmotic flows of opposite directions, x and −x
produced, respectively, in gaps 1 and 2. By symmetry,
the divergence-less flow pattern vP (x, y) in the area ITO2
must contain a stagnation point (SP) located in the center
Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69 Page 9 of 15

0.3mm
ITO3
S5
→
E
S4

gap 2
-

ITO2
S3
19,2V
→ +
E
S2

gap 1
S1

ITO1
→
v
a
t(s)

130

CS5
y
0

CS4

CS3

CS2

CS1
b
Fig. 8. Evolution of the wound up dowser texture in 5CB submitted to fields generated by an AC voltage applied to the two
gaps connected in series. (a) View of the wound up dowser texture deformed by electric fields. Yellow arrows represents velocities
of Poiseuille flows in field-free areas. (b) Spatio-temporal cross-sections taken along the dashed lines defined in (a).

of the nematic droplet. Using the reference frame (x, y)
centered at SP, the Poiseuille flow field can thus be ex-
pressed as
vo = [ax, −ay]. (34)
Thus, on the y-axis, this flow is parallel to it and, for
a > 0 its velocity grows with the distance y from the
stagnation point (see fig. 10(a)). As expected, the pattern
of isogyres in the area ITO2 visible in fig. 10(b) displays
three alterations:
1) The isogyres corresponding to d//y (d// − y) are en-
larged.
2) This enlargement grows with the distance y from the
stagnation point SP.
3) When compared with the series case (see fig. 10(d)),
the spatio-temporal cross-section taken along the line
Page 10 of 15 Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69

0.3mm
ITO3
S5

gap 2
S4
→
E
9.6V
S3

ITO2
-+
→
E
S2

gap 1
S1

ITO1
→
v
a
t(s)
110

CS5
y
0

CS4

CS3

CS2

CS1
b
Fig. 9. Evolution of the wound up dowser texture in 5CB submitted to fields generated by an AC voltage applied to the two gaps
connected in parallel. (a) View of the wound up dowser texture deformed by electric fields. Yellow arrows represents velocities
of Poiseuille flows in field-free areas. Note the presence of a stagnation point in the center. (b) Spatio-temporal cross-sections
taken along the dashed lines defined in (a).

S3 shows the third alteration: trajectories of isogyres in by two additional terms as follows:
the (y, t)-plane are oblique which means that isogyres  
are convected by the Poiseuille flow in the y-direction. ∂ϕ ∂ϕ ∂2ϕ
− + ṽy + − βe1 (t̃) sin ϕ − βe2 (t̃) sin 2ϕ
∂ t̃ ∂ ỹ ∂ ỹ 2
2.6.4 Numerical calculations −βrx (t̃) sin ϕ − βry (ỹ, t̃) cos ϕ = 0. (35)

To take into account effects of the Poiseuille flow in y- The first additional term ṽy (∂ϕ/∂ ỹ) corresponds to the
direction, the equation of motion (26) has to be completed convection of the distortion by the Poiseuille flow in
Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69 Page 11 of 15

Fig. 10. Determination of Poiseuille flows from the deformation of the isogyres pattern in experiment with two gaps in
parallel configuration. (a) Dowser field (white arrows) in the central part of fig. 9(a). (b) Poiseuille flow vP (x, y) (yellow
arrows) compatible with the pattern of isogyres in (a). (c) Spatio-temporal cross-section from the central part of fig. 9(b-CS3).
Trajectories of isogyres in the (y, t)-plane are oblique due to the convection of the distortion by the Poiseuille flow. (d) For
comparison of (c) with the series case: spatio-temporal cross-section from the central part of fig. 8(b-CS3).

y-direction. Close to the stagnation point, the dimension- it was 19.2 V. For this reason coefficients βe1 and βe2 are,
less velocity ṽy = vy qτ can be written as respectively twice and four time smaller than in the one-
gap case.
ṽy = a(t̃)ỹ. (36)

The second additional term βry (ỹ, t̃) cos ϕ corresponds to
the rheotropic torque exerted on the dowser field by the
y component of the Poiseuille flow.
The solution ϕ(ỹ, t̃) of eq. (35) has been obtained
numerically and used for plots of the spatio-temporal
cross-sections I(y, t) = Io sin2 (2ϕ) shown in fig. 11(c)
and (f). Satisfying fits with the experimental cross-
sections (fig. 11(d) and (e)) have been obtained with the
following choices of parameters:
Gaps in series (see fig. 11(c) and (d)):
1) CS2 and CS4: βe1 = ±5/2, βe2 = 3/4, βrx = 0, βry =
0, ṽ = 0.
2) CS1, CS3 and CS5: βe1 = 0, βe2 = 0, βrx = ±5/2,
βry = 0, ṽ = 0.
Gaps in parallel (see fig. 11(e) and (f)):
1) CS2 and CS4: βe1 = ±5/2, βe2 = 3/4, βrx = 0, βry =
0, ṽ = 0.
2) CS1 and CS5: βe1 = 0, βe2 = 0, βrx = 1, βry = 0,
ṽ = 0.
3) CS3: βe1 = 0, βe2 = 0, βrx = 0, βry = ±ỹ/(8π),
ṽ = ±ỹ/(8π).
Remark : For the same total potential difference U =
19.2 V, the intensity of the electric field in gaps connected
in series is twice smaller then in the one-gap case where
3 Experiments with a wound up dowser
texture in MBBA
In the previous experiments with the radial dowser tex-
ture [9] we have found that the flexo-electric polarisation
Pf e in MBBA is antiparallel to d in agreement with Do-
zov et al. [15]. Knowing from the previous section that
electro-osmotic flows cannot be neglected in analysis of
experimental results, we performed a new series of experi-
ments with the aim to detect electro-osmotic flows and to
evaluate their importance.
The experiment represented in fig. 12 has been per-
formed with MBBA using the same system of electrodes
as in experiments with 5CB discussed above. The two pic-
tures in fig. 12(a) show the wound up dowser texture in
quasi-equilibrium (t1) and its deformation by the electric
field (t2). The area marked with a dashed rectangle in the
picture (t2) is in fig. 12(c) blown up and rotated by 90◦
for a better readability.
Like in the experiment with 5CB (see fig. 6 and fig. 7
reproduced here in (d)) 2π walls separated by enlarged
isogyres are formed by the action of the electric field E.
However, in MBBA, directions of the dowser field in these
enlarged isogyres, d antiparallel to E, are the same inside
the gap and in the field-free areas while in 5CB (see picture
(d)) they are opposite: d//E in the gap and d//−E in the
field-free areas. The spatio-temporal cross-section in (b)
Page 12 of 15 Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69

Fig. 11. Comparison between experimental and theoretical spatio-temporal cross-sections. (a), (b) Spatio-temporal cross-
sections CS1, . . . , CS5 shown in (c)–(f) were taken along the dashed lines S1, . . . , S5 defined here. (d), (e) Reproduction of
central parts of experimental cross-sections shown in fig. 8(b) and fig. 9(b). (c)–(f) Numerically calculated spatio-temporal
cross-sections corresponding to the experimental ones shown in (d) and (e).

show that this relationship between d and E is conserved
after the reversal of the field.
From the former discussion we know that the direction
of the electro-osmotic flow veo is the same as the one of
the Poiseuille flow vP out in the field-free areas. Therefore,
we can already conclude that
1) the direction of the electro-osmotic velocity veo is the
same in 5CB and MBBA: antiparallel to the field E
(see fig. 12(e));
2) the direction of the Poiseuille flow vP in in the gap is
also same in 5CB and MBBA: parallel to the field E.
Consequently, in MBBA αeo is positive like in 5CB.
Now, as in the gap, the dowser field d is antiparallel to
E, the sign of the total torque given by eq. (9) is negative
so that the sum (αeo + Pf e ) is negative in spite of the fact
that αeo is positive. Moreover, as the width ξin of 2π walls
inside the gap is about three times smaller then outside
the gap we can write
 2
ξout αeo + Pf e
= −ρ ≈ 9. (37)
ξin αeo
4 Summary and perspectives
4.1 Summary
Experiments with the wound up dowser texture submitted
to electric fields E generated by systems of parallel ITO
electrodes have shown that, as expected from considera-
tion on flexo-electricity, the dowser field d is deformed by
a torque Γ = Pf e d × E, linear in E. Surprisingly, we have
also found deformations of the dowser field d in field-free
areas. We argued that this effect can only be due to a
rheotropic torque exerted on d by a Poiseuille flow vout
driven by electro-osmosis. With this hypothesis in mind,
we had to admit that electro-osmosis, by intermediate of
an adverse Poiseuille flow
vin = −ρvout (38)
exerts a rheotropic torque on the dowser field also in areas
with the field, i.e. in gaps between electrodes.
As the flow vin is proportional to E, the rheotropic
torque can be written as Γ = αeo d × E so that the total
torque acting on the dowser field is

Inserting ρ = 4.4 we obtain αeo ≈ −Pf e /3 and Papp = Γin = (αeo + Pf e )d × E. (39)
αeo + Pf e = (2/3)Pf e . Using the value of Papp ≈
−2.7 pC m−1 determined previously [9], we obtain Pf e ≈ Using eq. (38) we can also write
−4 pC m−1 which remains in a good agreement with the
result of Dozov et al. [15]. Γout = ραeo d × E. (40)
Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69 Page 13 of 15

Fig. 12. Electro-osmosis and flexo-electricity in MBBA. (a) Action of an electric field on a wound up dowser texture. (b) Spatio-
temporal cross-section extracted from a video along dashed lines defined in (a). There is no phase shift between 2π walls inside
the gap (CS2) and in field-free areas (CS1 and CS3). (c) Blow up of the rectangular area marked with a dashed line in (a).
Enlarged isogyres correspond to the same direction of the dowser field d. It is opposite to the electric field E because in MBBA
the flexo-electric polarisation P is antiparallel to d. (d) Reminder of the similar experiment with 5CB (see fig. 7). The flexo-
electric polarisation P of 5CB being parallel to d, the dowser field inside the gap is opposite to the one in MBBA. The Poiseuille
flow vP driven by electro-osmosis has the same direction in MBBA and 5CB. (e) Stream lines of flows. (f) Flow profiles.

When the electric field is strong enough, the deformed
wound up dowser texture can be described in terms of
2π walls of the width squared ξ 2 inversely proportional
to torques expressed by eqs. (39) and (40). Their ratio
ξout /ξin expressed by eq. (37) depends finally on two di-
mensionless parameters ρ and αeo /Pf e .
The value of the sharing ratio ρ ≈ 4.4 has been es-
timated from considerations of flows taking into account
geometrical details of experiments.
Knowing ρ and ξout /ξin , the value of αeo /Pf e was de-
termined from eq. (37).
Page 14 of 15 Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 69

1
2
3

→
d

a b 5
Fig. 13. Deformation of the dowser field in MBBA by electric field and electro-osmotic flows generated by the system of four
electrodes in quadrupolar configuration (see fig. 2(d3 )). (a) View of the dowser texture between crossed polarisers. The dowser
field (white arrows) contains two +2π and one −2π defects. (b) Global flow pattern. It is deduced from the motion of five dust
particles (labeled from 1 to 5). Their initial positions at t = 0 s are indicated by arrows. The successive positions are taken at
intervals of 100 s. The velocity of the particle 1 is thus of the order of 0.75 μm/s.

In 5CB, we have found that αeo ≈ −1.29Pf e . This
contribution of the electro-osmosis to the total torque
(eq. (39)) has the sign opposite to the flexo-electric and,
moreover, prevails over it. As a result, the “apparent po-
larisation” of the dowser field Papp = αeo + Pf e appears
as positive while its true flexo-electric polarisation is neg-
ative. This explains the apparent discrepancy with results
of Link et al. [16] found previously.
In MBBA, we have found that αeo ≈ −(1/3)Pf e . Once
again, the apparent polarisation is different than the true
one but the sign is the same.
4.2 Perspectives
PP is grateful to F. Giesselmann and H.-S. Kitzerow for the
invitation to the 46th German Liquid Crystal Conference
in Paderborn. This work benefited from the technical as-
sistance of V. Klein, S. Saranga, J. Sanchez, M. Bottineau,
J. Vieira, I. Nimaga and C. Goldmann. PP thanks also
S. Ravy for a financial support. MHG thanks FCTPortuguese
Foundation for Science and Technology under projects
UID/CTM/50025/2013, and PTDC/CTM-BIO/6178/2014
and M-ERA-NET2/0007/2016 (CellColor).
Author contribution statement
All authors contributed equally to this work.

As mentioned in sect. 1.2 of the “Introduction”, our final

aim is to find methods of handling defects of the dowser
field, i.e. nematic monopoles, by electric fields of appropri-
ated geometry. As an example we show here in fig. 13(a) a
triplet of two +2π and one −2π defects stabilised by a DC
electric field generated by a system of four electrodes in
quadrupolar configuration (see fig. 2(d3 )). In view of the
results obtained above, we are not surprised by the defor-
mation of the dowser field in field-free areas. It is obvi-
ously due to Poiseuille flows generated by electro-osmosis
in gaps between electrodes.
The flow pattern represented schematically fig. 13(b)
was expected by extrapolation of results presented in this
paper. It agrees with trajectories of dust particles repre-
sented in fig. 13(b) as dotted lines in which dots corre-
spond to successive positions of dust particles taken at
time intervals of Δt = 100 s.
We postpone a more detailed discussion about han-
dling of nematic monopoles with electric fields to another
paper.
Conflict of interest
There are no conflicts to declare.
Publisher’s Note The EPJ Publishers remain neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu-
tional affiliations.
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