Nematodynamics modelling under extreme mechanical and electric stresses

Nematic liquid crystals confined in asymmetric -cells and subjected to intense electrical and mechanical stresses undergo strong distortions which can be relaxed by means of the order reconstruction, a fast switching mechanism connecting topologically different textures, assuming bulk and/or surface characteristics depending on both amplitude of the applied electric fields and anchoring angles of the nematic molecules on the confining surfaces. In the frame of the Landau-de Gennes order tensor theory, we provide a numerical model implemented with a moving mesh finite element method appropriate to describe the nematic order dynamics, allowing to map the switching properties of the nematic texture.