Complex Fluids and Non-Newtonian Flows

Catalog description

Definition of a complex liquid and microrheology. Division of complex fluids into suspensions, solutions, and melts. Suspensions as colloidal and non-colloidal. Extra stress and relation to the stresslet. Suspension rheology including Brownian and non-Brownian fibers. Microhydrodynamics and the Fokker-Planck equation. Linear viscoelasticity and the weak flow limit. Polymer solutions including single mode (dumbbell) and multimode models. Nonlinear viscoelasticity. Intermolecular effects in nondilute solutions and melts and the concept of reptation. Prerequisites: low Reynolds number hydrodynamics or consent of instructor.