Lattice Boltzmann simulations of liquid crystalline fluids: active gels and blue phases

TL;DR

This paper reviews the application of lattice Boltzmann simulations to complex fluids, specifically liquid crystalline materials like blue phases and active gels, providing new insights into their hydrodynamics.

Contribution

It highlights recent advances in using lattice Boltzmann methods to study complex liquid crystalline systems and active gels, emphasizing novel insights gained.

Findings

Lattice Boltzmann simulations elucidate blue phase structures.

Simulations reveal hydrodynamics of active gels.

New understanding of complex fluid behaviors.

Abstract

Lattice Boltzmann simulations have become a method of choice to solve the hydrodynamic equations of motion of a number of complex fluids. Here we review some recent applications of lattice Boltzmann to study the hydrodynamics of liquid crystalline materials. In particular, we focus on the study of (a) the exotic blue phases of cholesteric liquid crystals, and (b) active gels - a model system for actin plus myosin solutions or bacterial suspensions. In both cases lattice Boltzmann studies have proved useful to provide new insights into these complex materials.