Forces and variational compatibility for equilibrium liquid crystal director models with coupled electric fields

Expressions are obtained for force and couple densities and stress tensors in macroscopic models for nematic liquid crystals in electric fields. The coupling between the liquid crystal orientational properties and the electric field is taken into account via a free energy of Oseen–Frank type expressed as an integral functional of the director field and the electric potential field. The variational model here also allows for a gravitational field and a magnetic field, and the differences among these three common types of force fields (gravitational, magnetic, and electric) are discussed. Also included in the free energy is a surface anchoring potential, and its effect on boundary traction and couple stress is explored. The electric field is assumed to arise from electrodes held at constant potential. Flexoelectric effects are included, and as a consequence, the material is no longer a linear dielectric medium. It is shown that the equilibrium solutions of the Euler–Lagrange equations satisfy appropriate expressions of force balance and torque balance, obtained from a virtual work principle. The development here builds from theories of Ericksen related to the notion of “variational compatibility,” and this connection is made. Comparisons are also made to the extensive literature in physics and continuum mechanics on electromagnetic field/matter interaction.