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Shear banding in surfactant solutions
MSC : S. Lerouge, M.A. Fardin, G. Grégoire, O. Cardoso, M.A. Guedeau-Boudeville.
Surfactant molecules are amphiphilic molecules characterized by a polar head and a hydrophobic tail. Because of their amphiphilic character and under particular thermodynamical conditions the surfactant molecules in aqueous solution form elongated semi-flexible aggregates called giant or wormlike micelles. As regular polymers, wormlike micelles are organized into a viscoelastic entangled network. Under simple shear flow, the microstructure of the system is modified, leading to a shear-thinning behavior. The modification of the structure usually feedbacks on the flow itself : the system undergoes a shear banding transition from an homogeneous flow state to a non-homogeneous flow state in which the fluid separates into two macroscopic bands of differing shear rates at constant stress. In the laboratory, we focus on the dynamics of the shear banding flow. Using optical techniques, we can show, for example, that coherent structures develop in the shear banding flow of giant micelles. We are currently trying to understand the physical origin of such an instability.
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CARDOSO Olivier, FARDIN Marc-Antoine, GRÉGOIRE Guillaume, GUEDEAU-BOUDEVILLE Marie-Alice, LEROUGE Sandra
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