Dynamics of nematic liquid crystal under oscillatory flow: Influence of surface viscosity

We analyse the influence of a surface viscosity on the orientational dynami cs of a nematic liquid crystal subjected to an oscillatory Couette flow. Ap proximate analytical solutions of nematohydrodynamic equations for small fl ow amplitudes are calculated and compared with the results of full numerica l simulations. The range of flow frequencies where the surface viscosity ha s strong influence on the optical response is determined.