Shear thickening in dilute solutions of wormlike micelles

A new mechanism is suggested for shear thickening in dilute solutions of wormlike micelles. According to this mechanism, there is an instability above a critical shear rate, $\dot\gamma _{\rm c}$, by which micelles aggregate to form networks of bundles. We examine the first step of this instability...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Europhysics letters 2001-08, Vol.55 (3), p.432-438
Main Authors: Barentin, C, Liu, A. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
61.20.Qg
61.25.Hq
83.60.Pq
Chemistry
Colloidal state and disperse state
Exact sciences and technology
General and physical chemistry
Micelles. Thin films
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A new mechanism is suggested for shear thickening in dilute solutions of wormlike micelles. According to this mechanism, there is an instability above a critical shear rate, $\dot\gamma _{\rm c}$, by which micelles aggregate to form networks of bundles. We examine the first step of this instability by studying the aggregation of two micelles into a paired bundle. The model predicts that $\dot\gamma _{\rm c}$ is given by the inverse of the time necessary for the two micelles to unbind from each other. The order of magnitude and temperature dependence of the predicted $\dot\gamma _{\rm c}$ are in good agreement with experimental measurements. In addition, the model provides a natural explanation for the observation of coexistence between the shear-induced structure and a dilute phase at fixed shear stress.
ISSN:0295-5075
1286-4854
DOI:10.1209/epl/i2001-00432-x