| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/L70455/01 |
| Title: |
NON-EQUILIBRIUM PHASE TRANSITIONS IN COMPLEX FLUIDS; AND TOPICS IN POLYMER NETWORKS AND GELS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Olmsted, Professor PD |
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| Department: |
Physics and Astronomy |
| Organisation: |
University of Leeds |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
18 March 1998 |
Ends: |
17 March 2000 |
Value (£): |
50,372
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Complex fluids & soft solids |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Complex fluids are mixtures of complex molecules such as surfactants and polymers whose organisations range from simple solutions to elaborate structures. Examples include polymer and surfactant gels and crosslinked networks; surfactant structures such as emulsions, lamellae, sponges and bicontinuous crystals and colloid and polymer dispersions. This rapidly-growing field draws together researchers from the physics, biology, chemistry and chemical engineering communities and is directly relevant to industries such as food, cosmetics, biotechnology, petroleum, paints and adhesives. We propose to study: (1) Phase separation and non-linear rheology of complex fluids under flow and (2) Non-local effects in polymer networks and gels (due to chain stiffness and elastic cost in swelling, which precludes familiar equilibrium phase coexistence). These topics probe the borders of our knowledge of statistical physics. The non-equilibrium physics of flow-instabilities and the attendant `phase-diagrams' requires ideas distinct from those conventional equilibrium physics. The same is true of the apparent non-thermodynamic behaviour (due to long range elastic and/or Coulomb interactions) of gel swelling. We also propose to study non-Gaussian network behaviour in stiff-chain networks and to study the behaviour of polyelectrolyte gels in collaboration with our experimental colleagues at Leeds.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.leeds.ac.uk |