Flexible Polymer Chains in Elongational Flow

Flexible Polymer Chain Dynamics in Elongational Flow fulfills a need by presenting the most important advances in the field of flexible polymer chains in "strong" flow in a single literature source. Although several excellent treatises on polymer dynamics have appeared over the years, most of them deal with polymer chains in the quiescent state or in simple shear flow. Elongational flow with an inherent low vorticity proves to be more efficient in extending polymer chains than simple shear flow and thus is more interesting from the point of view of basic (molecular chain dynamics at high deformation) and applied polymer science (rheology, fiber spinning, drag reduction, flow through porous media). In the two decades which followed the seminal "coil-stretching" model formulated by Prof. de Gennes in 1974, significant progress in the understanding of chain conformation in "strong" flow has been accomplished through a combination of advances in instrumentation, computation techniques and theoretical studies. In this volume, articles from leading specialists provide the reader with broad coverage of the different aspects of flexible polymer chains in elongational flow while identifiying directions and challenges for future studies.