Spinodal decomposition and nucleation in the presence of flow

Abstract

Spinodal decomposition and nucleation of critical fluids are discussed in the presence of laminar shear and turbulence on the basis of recent experiments. In such situations we can realize stationary emulsion-like domain structures due to dynamical balance between thermodynamic instability and shear-induced deformations. In the spinodal decomposition case, unique is the strong shear regime in which the shear exceeds the average relaxation rate of the order parameter. In the nucleation case shear can enhance aggregation of droplets, thus speeding up the growth. But if the shear exceeds a relatively small critical value, even critical droplets can be broken, then leading to complete suppression of the droplet formation. We also predict a considerable increase of the effective viscosity and a large non-Newtonian effect due to domains in the course of spinodal decomposition.