Abstract
We have numerical investigated the backflow effect of a nematic liquid crystal between concentric cylinders, using the Leslie-Ericksen continuum theory. When an electric filed is applied between the cylinders, the nematic liquid crystalline flow called the backflow is induced due to the reorientation of the nematic liquid crystalline molecules. For the low curvature of flow channel, the induced backflow profile is anti-symmetric with respect to the center of the channel. As the curvature increase, the profile changes to asymmetric, and finally becomes one-directional. It is also found that the shear stress on the inner cylinder becomes higher with the increase of the curvature.
