The effect of steady flow fields on the isotropicndash;nematic phase transition of rigid rodhyphen;like polymers

摘要

In this paper we study the stability of steady state solutions to Doirsquo;s kinetic equation for rigid rodhyphen;like polymers in an arbitrary flow field. It is found that for a certain range of concentration, the addition of flow to an isotropic phase can induce a transition to the nematic phase, if the flow rate exceeds a certain critical value. This critical flow rate decreases as concentration is increased. For phase transitions occurring in weak flow, exact solutions to this problem are calculated. Unlike the lsquo;lsquo;free energyrsquo;rsquo; approach, these calculations are not restricted to potential flows.