Eur. Phys. J. B 7, 237-249 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050610

Shear banding instability in wormlike micellar solutions

Institute of Fundamental Sciences-Physics, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Received: 2 June 1998
Accepted: 27 July 1998
Published online: 15 January 1999

Abstract

Using NMR velocimetry and mechanical measurements we study the flow dynamics, within a cone-and-plate rheometer, of the wormlike micelle system, cetylpyridinium chloride/sodium salicylate (CPyCl/NaSal) at 100 mM/60 mM concentration in distilled water. Depending on precise conditions within the system, two classes of behaviour are observed, one in which the boundary between different shear rate phases fluctuates rapidly (on the order of tens of milliseconds) and one in which it migrates slowly with a time constant of many seconds. These modes of behaviour may depend on minor solution impurities, which presumably affect the detailed constitutive properties, but also on the externally applied shear rate within a given system. We argue that the slow migrations are governed by stress relaxation effects while the rapid migrations are flow driven and arise from interfacial instability.