Viscosity Measurement of Nematic Liquid Crystal Using Shear Horizontal Wave Propagation in Liquid Crystal Cell

Propagation characteristics of a shear horizontal (SH) wave in a cell structure containing a nematic liquid crystal layer are described on the basis of numerical analysis and experimental results. The SH wave propagation is described by the numerical analysis result for the nematic liquid crystal as an anisotropic liquid, considering the director angle of the liquid crystal. The temperature dependence of effective viscosities of a typical nematic liquid crystal N-(p-methoxybenzylidene)-p'butylaniline)] (MBBA) is evaluated from the measurement of the phase velocity change of the SH wave in the liquid crystal cell.