Numerical bifurcation study of electrohydrodynamic convection in nematic liquid crystals

We present the results of a numerical investigation of the Ericksen-Leslie equations for the problem of electrohydrodynamic convection in a nematic liquid crystal. The combination of a finite element approach and numerical bifurcation techniques allows us to provide details of the basic flow and include the physically relevant effect of nonslip side walls. We are also able to include material properties as parameters and this permits us to draw comparisons with available experimental data. We then compare and contrast the bifurcation structure with that of Rayleigh-Bénard and Taylor-Couette flows and explore the role of symmetries by including a fringing electric field.