INFLUENCE OF ELASTIC-ANISOTROPY ON THE STRUCTURE OF NEEL INVERSION WALLS IN LIQUID-CRYSTAL POLYMERS

A solution of the director orientation across Neel inversion walls in a liquid crystal placed in a magnetic field for different values of th e elastic anisotropy is presented. The appropriate characteristic leng th, containing the bend, k33, and splay, k11, elastic constants, for N eel type inversion walls is redefined as (1/H)[(k11 + k33)/chi(a)]1/2. The qualitative, and, in favorable cases, quantitative, values of the elastic anisotropy of a liquid crystal polymer can be obtained from t he images through the direct measurements of the director field via a lamellar decoration technique.