Polymer shear thinning

Work by K. R. Prathyusha and collaborators at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (India) and the University of Memphis to model short polymer segments which bind together to form networks, as a model for “living” polymers. When sheared, the systems self-assemble into various morphologies.

The cover page shows a columnar phase, formed when the system is sheared. The second figure shows various shear-induced phases which appear as the interaction parameters are varied.