Flexoelectro-optic properties of chiral nematic liquid crystals in the uniform standing helix configuration.

The flexoelectro-optic effect describes the rotation of the optic axis of a short-pitch chiral nematic liquid crystal under the application of an electric field. We investigate the effect in the uniform standing helix, or "Grandjean" configuration. An in-plane electric field is applied. The director profile is determined numerically using a static one-dimensional continuum model with strong surface anchoring. The Berreman method is used to solve for plane-wave solutions to Maxwell's equations, and predict the optical properties of the resulting structure in general cases. By using a chiral nematic with short pitch between crossed polarizers an optical switch may be generated. With no applied field the configuration is nontransmissive at normal incidence, but becomes transmissive with an applied field. For this case, numerical results using the Berreman method are supplemented with an analytic theory and found to be in good agreement. The transmitted intensity as a function of tilt, the contrast ratio, and the tilt required for full intensity modulation are presented. The angular dependence of the transmission is calculated and the isocontrast curves are plotted. For typical material and cell parameters a switching speed of 0.017 ms and contrast ratio of 1500:1 at normal incidence are predicted, at a switch-on tilt of 41.5 degrees. Experimental verification of the analytic and numerical models is provided.

A supply network configuration perspective on international supply chain development

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of configuration on supply network capability. It was believed that a configuration perspective might provide new insights on the capability and performance of supply networks, a gap in the literature, and provide a basis for the development of tools to aid their analysis and design. Design/methodology/ approach - The methodology involved the development of a configuration definition and mapping approach extending established strategic and firm level constructs to the network operational level. The resulting tools were tested and refined in a series of case studies across a range of sectors and value chain models. Supply network capability assessments, from the perspective of the focal firm, were then compared with their configuration profiles. Findings - The configuration mapping tools were found to give new insights into the structure of supply networks and allow comparisons to be made across sectors and business models through the use of consistent and quantitative methods and common presentation. They provide the foundations for linking configuration to capability and performance, and contribute to supply network design and development by highlighting the intrinsic capabilities associated with different configurations. Research limitations/implications - Although multiple case networks have been investigated, the configuration exemplars remain suggestive models. The research suggests that a re-evaluation of operational process excellence models is needed, where the link between process maturity and performance may require a configuration context. Practical implications - Advantages of particular configurations have been identified with implications for supply network development and industrial policy. Originality/value - The paper seeks to develop established strategic management configuration concepts to the analysis and design of supply networks by providing a robust operational definition of supply network configuration and novel tools for their mapping and assessment. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

An approach to functional synthesis of solutions in mechanical conceptual design. Part III: Spatial configuration

These three papers describe an approach to the synthesis of solutions to a class of mechanical design problems; these involve transmission and transformation of mechanical forces and motion, and can be described by a set of inputs and outputs. The approach involves (1) identifying a set of primary functional elements and rules of combining them, and (2) developing appropriate representations and reasoning procedures for synthesising solution concepts using these elements and their combination rules; these synthesis procedures can produce an exhaustive set of solution concepts, in terms of their topological as well as spatial configurations, to a given design problem. This paper (Part III) describes a constraint propagation procedure which, using a knowledge base of spatial information about a set of primary functional elements, can produce possible spatial configurations of solution concepts generated in Part II.