This monograph presents theoretical and experimental studies of flows of elastic liquids. Falling into this category are particularly the melts and concentrated solutions of such flexible-chain polymers as polyethylene, polyisobutylene and polypropylene, all of which are widely used in polymer processing. These polydisperse polymers vary greatly, from batch to batch, in their mechanical properties and 20% variation in a property is believed to be good enough. l 7 All recent books - devoted to the rheology of polymers do not answer the question of which constitutive equations should be used for solving the fluid mechanic problems of polymer processing in the usual case of an appreciable nonlinear region of deformation where nonlinear effects of shear and extensional elasticity are very important. Viscoelastic constitut ive equations cited commonly (see, e.g. Refs 5 and 6) do not describe simultaneously even the simplest cases of deformations, viz. simple shear and uniaxial extension. Moreover, some of them are internally inconsist ent and sometimes display highly unstable behaviour in simple flows without any fundamental reasons. Even more respected molecular ap free from these defects.

Inhalt

Preface. Constitutive equations with a recoverable strain tensor as an internal parameter. Other constitutive equations for elastic liquids. Analyses of simple constitutive equations for viscoelastic liquids. Experimental methods in rheology of viscoelastic liquids. Theoretical and experimental investigation of shear deformations in elastic polymeric liquids. Experimental and theoretical studies of uniaxial uniform extension of polymeric liquids. On hardening phenomena in flows of viscoelastic liquids. Flows of viscoelastic polymeric liquids in channels and pipes. Nonisothermal flows of polymeric liquids. Flows close to simple shear and simple extension. Melt flow instabilities. Additional problems in rheology of polymeric fluids. Appendices. References. Index.