EVALUATION OF ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL FLUIDS INCORPORATING LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS

Liquid-crystalline materials have been employed in electro-rheological fluid dispersions. Four commercially available dispersed phases were used in conjunction with a nematic liquid-crystal mixture E7 to form l iquid-crystalline electrorheological fluids displaying good yield stre sses. Both the dielectric anisotropy and the highly organized nature o f the molecules of the nematic phase exhibited by the liquid-crystalli ne materials have been shown to contribute to the electro-rheological activity exhibited by these novel fluids.