Conductivity measurements in a shear-banding wormlike micellar system

Photinos, P., Lopez Gonzalez, M., Hoven, C. and Callaghan, P. (2010) Conductivity measurements in a shear-banding wormlike micellar system. Physical Review E, 82(1), 011502. (doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.82.011502)

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Abstract

Shear banding in the cetylpyridinium chloride/sodium salicylate micellar system is investigated using electrical conductivity measurements parallel to the velocity and parallel to the vorticity in a cylindrical Couette cell. The measurements show that the conductivity parallel to the velocity (vorticity) increases (decreases) monotonically with applied shear rate. The shear-induced anisotropy is over one order of magnitude lower than the anisotropy of the Nc nematic phase. The steady-state conductivity measurements indicate that the anisotropy of the shear induced low-viscosity (high shear rate) phase is not significantly larger than the anisotropy of the high viscosity (low shear rate) phase. We estimate that the micelles in the shear induced low viscosity band are relatively short, with a characteristic length to diameter ratio of 5–15. The relaxation behavior following the onset of shear is markedly different above and below the first critical value γ̇1, in agreement with results obtained by other methods. The transient measurements show that the overall anisotropy of the sample decreases as the steady state is approached, i.e., the micellar length/the degree of order decrease.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Lopez Gonzalez, Dr Maria Del
Authors: Photinos, P., Lopez Gonzalez, M., Hoven, C., and Callaghan, P.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
Journal Name:Physical Review E
ISSN:1539-3755
Published Online:09 July 2010

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