Evolution of non-isothermal Landau-de Gennes nematic liquid crystals flows with singular potential

Abstract

We discuss a 3D model describing the time evolution of nematic liquid crystals in the framework of Landau-de Gennes theory, where the natural physical constraints are enforced by a singular free energy bulk potential proposed by J.M. Ball and A. Majumdar. The thermal effects are present through the component of the free energy that accounts for intermolecular interactions. The model is consistent with the general principle of thermodynamics and mathematically tractable. We identify the a priori estimates for the associated system of evolutionary partial differential equations and construct global-in-time weak solutions for arbitrary physically relevant initial data.