Observations of the collapse of dilute lyotropic lamellar phases under shear flow

Experimental evidence of the collapse of dilute lamellar phases due to shear flow is presented. Two systems are used: one composed of brine and an ionic surfactant, and another composed of water, a nonionic surfactant, and cosurfactant. We observe this transition for a range of lamellar spacings and brine salinity. The results are in reasonable agreement with recent theory in which the suppression of fluctuations by shear plays an important role.