Flow-Induced Concentration Nonuniformity and Shear Banding in Entangled Polymer Solutions

Phys Rev Lett. 2021 May 21;126(20):207801. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.207801.

Abstract

Recent models have predicted entangled polymer solutions could shear band due to unstable flow-induced demixing. This work provides the first experimental probe of the in situ concentration profile of entangled polymer solutions under shear. At shear rates above a critical value, we show that the concentration and velocity profiles can develop bands, in quantitative agreement with steady-state model predictions. These findings highlight the critical importance of flow-concentration coupling in entangled polymer solutions.