Colloidal homogenization for the hydrodynamics of nematic liquid crystals

This paper analytically explores a simplified model for the hydrodynamics of nematic liquid crystal colloids. We integrate a Stokes equation for the velocity field with a Ginzburg–Landau transported heat flow for the director field. The study focuses on a bounded spatial domain containing periodically distributed colloidal particles with no-anchoring conditions on the nematic liquid crystal. By progressively reducing the particle size to zero and simultaneously increasing the number of particles, we delve into the associated homogenization problem. Our analysis uncovers a form of decoupling where the velocity field asymptotically satisfies a Darcy equation, independent of the director, while the director follows a gradient flow, unaffected by the velocity field. One of the most intricate aspects of the homogenization process is the absence of an extension operator for the director field that preserves the uniform estimates related to the system’s energy. We address this challenge with a novel variation of the Aubin–Lions lemma, specifically adapted for homogenization problems.