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arXiv · cond-mat/9705181

Coexistence and Phase Separation in Sheared Complex Fluids

Peter D. Olmsted·C. -Y. D. Lu
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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.

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Peter D. Olmsted, C. -Y. D. Lu. 1997-05-19. Coexistence and Phase Separation in Sheared Complex Fluids. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.56.r55

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