Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Structure Formation in Polymer Solutions Under Flow
A series of studies have been carried out with the goal of quantifying via molecular modeling the phenomenon of flow-induced structure formation in polymer solutions. Flow-induced stresses cause changes in the free energy of the polymer solutions and can eventually lead to phase separation. The thermodynamic behavior of random polymer coils under stress is treated as equivalent to that of a model system of semiflexible macromolecules in the absence of applied forces. Application of equilibrium conditions results in model predictions which are in good agreement with experimental observations i.e., changes in the binodal curve, increase in the amount of the separated concentrated phase and molecular weight fractionation with increase in the strength of the flow field.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign