Rheo-optical characterization of liquid crystalline acetoxypropylcellulose melt undergoing large shear flow and relaxation after flow cessation

摘要

The rheological and structural characteristics of acetoxypropylcellulose (APC) nematic melt are studied atshear rates ranging from 10 s 1 to 1000 s 1 which are relevant to extrusion based processes. APC shows amonotonic shear thinning behavior over the range of shear rates tested. The negative extrudate-swellshows a minimum when a critical shear rate g_ c is reached. For shear rates smaller than g_ c, the flowinducedtexture consists of two set of bands aligned parallel and normal to the flow direction. Atshear rates larger than g_ c, the flow induced texture is reminiscent of a 2 fluids structure. Close to theshearing walls, domains elongated along the flow direction and stacked along the vorticity are imagedwith POM, whereas SALS patterns indicate that the bulk of the sheared APC is made of elliptical domainsoriented along the vorticity. No full nematic alignment is achieved at the largest shear rate tested. Belowg_ c, the stress relaxation is described by a stretched exponential. Above g_ c, the stress relaxation isdescribed by a fast and a slow process. The latter coincides with the growth of normal bands thicknesses,as the APC texture after flow cessation consists of two types of bands with parallel and normal orientationsrelative to the flow direction. Both bands thicknesses do not depend on the applied shear rate, incontrast to their orientation.