Computer Simulation of Flow of Liquid Crystal Polymers

Abstract

In the lecture delivered at the IMA Workshop on Orienting Polymers two years ago, Wissbrun (1984) presented an overview of the rheology of liquid crystal polymers and also emphasized the need for numerical simulations of the flow and orientation development. The great practical importance of such studies stems from the well-known fact that processing of liquid crystal polymers may be used for production of solid materials which have extremely valuable properties (strength, etc.) due to the high degree of molecular orientation. Molecular orientation is thus a very important function of the processing conditions (equipment geometry, flow regime, etc.), and the ability to predict and control this function can be crucial for the successful production of solid materials with required properties.