Eur. Phys. J. E (2005) 17: 45-52
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2004-10103-4

Original Article

Viscoelastic response of diblock copolymers to oscillatory shear

Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany

^* e-mail: sten.ruediger@hmi.de

Received: 4 September 2004
Accepted: 16 February 2005
Published online: 22 March 2005

Abstract

A mesoscopic model for diblock copolymers is combined with a simple rheological description of the viscoelastic contrast of its two phases. Under oscillatory shear the contrast generates secondary velocity fields and substantial deviations of volume-averaged flow parameters. The validity of our analytical findings is tested with three-dimensional numerical simulations. Furthermore, we consider the effect of advection by the generated flows on the stability of ordered lamellar states and propose a new criterion for the selection of orientations.