Thermodynamics and dynamics of flowing polymer solutions and blends Authors Manuel Criado-Sancho David Jou i Mirabent José Casas-Vázquez Abstract We review the basic ideas and main results of our analysis of shear-induced effects in polymer solutions and blends. The analysis combines thermodynamic and hydrodynamic descriptions. The flow contribution to the free energy of the solution is described in the framework of extended irreversible thermodynamics, which relates the viscoelastic constitutive equations to a non-equilibrium entropy that depends on the viscous pressure tensor. This yields, by differentiation, the corresponding non-equilibrium equation of state for the chemical potential, which couples diffusion flux to viscous pressure in the presence of a flow. In some conditions, the one-phase system becomes unstable and splits into two phases, leading to a shift in the spinodal line. The theoretical analysis is based on the stability of the mass and momentum balance equations, the constitutive equations for viscous pressure tensor and diffusion flux, and the equation of state for the chemical potential. The resulting predictions corroborate qualitatively the known experimental observations. Results for dilute and entangled polymer solutions and for polymer blends are given. Downloads Text complet (Català) PDF Published 2004-10-26 Issue 2-3 Section Research reviews License This work is subject, unless the contrary is indicated in the text, the photographs or in other illustrations, to an Attribution —Non-Commercial— No Derivative Works 3.0 Creative Commons License, the full text of which can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. You are free to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work provided that the author is credited and reuse of the material is restricted to non-commercial purposes only and that no derivative works are created from the original material.