Coexistence and Phase Separation in Sheared Complex Fluids
Soft Condensed Matter
2009-10-30 v1
Abstract
We demonstrate how to construct dynamic phase diagrams for complex fluids that undergo transitions under flow, in which the conserved composition variable and the broken-symmetry order parameter (nematic, smectic, crystalline, etc.) are coupled to shear rate. Our construction relies on a selection criterion, the existence of a steady interface connecting two stable homogeneous states. We use the (generalized) Doi model of lyotropic nematic liquid crystals as a model system, but the method can be easily applied to other systems, provided non-local effects are included.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/9705181,
title = {Coexistence and Phase Separation in Sheared Complex Fluids},
author = {Peter D. Olmsted and C. -Y. D. Lu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/9705181},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
4 pages REVTEX, 5 figures using epsf macros. To appear in Physical Review E (Rapid Communications)