Rheo‐optical studies of concentrated polystyrene solutions subjected to transient simple shear flow

Abstract

AbstractConcentrated polystyrene solutions were investigated on the inception and cessation of simple shear flow by means of the technique of two‐color flow birefringence. Both monodisperse solutions of various molecular weights and bimodal mixtures were studied. The molecular weight affected both the amount of overshoot in the birefringence and the response time on the inception of shear flow. Large overshoots in birefringence, up to 250%, and undershoot in the orientation angle were observed. The shear stress and the first normal stress difference were calculated by using the stress–optical rule. The amount of strain at the peaks in the stress growth curves are presented along with the steady‐state viscosity and primary normal stress coefficient. The experimental results are compared qualitatively with theoretical predictions of various molecular models.