136 Flow Rate Estimation of Liquid Crystal in Minute ER Devices with ITO Glass Electrodes
Details
We have examined a new method of flow rate evaluation from the optical pattern of liquid crystal flow in a minute ER channel. The two-dimensional channel consists of two ITO glass electrodes, and two cases with a stripe-patterned electrode and no patterned one were tested in the low flow rate condition. A tail shaped patterns were observed in the just downstream of the pattern and the length of the tail has a good correlation with the flow rate. Moreover, the average brightness obtained with no patterned electrode was also helpful for the flow rate evaluation.
