This project investigates the kinetics of the formation and destruction of supramolecular structure in liquid crystalline polymers subjected to flow. It studies the interrelationship between structure and flow behavior in ordered polymeric fluids. The study will concentrate on how a polydomain structure forms and deforms under steady shear flow. Liquid crystalline polymers is an important class of advanced materials. The outcome of this research may suggest nonconventional processing techniques that may enable fabrication of articles having either anisotropic non-domain structure, or a controlled polydomain structure.
