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Ubiquity of domain patterns in sheared viscoelastic fluids
E K Hobbie1, S Lin-Gibson, H Wang
1National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA. erik.hobbie@nist.gov
Abstract:
A ubiquitous domain pattern is observed in two-phase viscoelastic fluids falling within the simple paradigm of soft viscoelastic domains suspended in a less viscoelastic fluid under shear flow. Three strikingly different complex fluids exhibit the same shear-induced domain structure, which we relate to the elasticity of the dispersed phase via an approximate Weissenberg number. We suggest a physical mechanism for the formation of this pervasive pattern, independent of the dynamic origin of the elasticity of the suspended phase.