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Rheologica Acta, Vol.53, No.2, 191-198, 2014
The role of convective constraint release in parallel superposition flows of nearly monodisperse entangled polymer solutions
Recent experiments by Li and Wang (Macromolecules 43:5904-5908, 2010) on parallel superposition flows of nearly monodisperse entangled polymer solutions revealing a flow-induced acceleration of the relaxation dynamics are here analyzed by using a simple differential constitutive equation based on the tube model to examine the role of convective constraint release (CCR) in these situations. Contrary to the expectations of Wang and coworkers, we find that such a flow-induced acceleration is not a CCR effect. Rather, our results suggest that the acceleration is simply due to convection per se (not to be confused with CCR) and to nonlinear orientation effects.
Keywords:Entangled polymers;Nonlinear viscoelasticity;Superposition flows;Tube model;Convective constraint release