The shear-flow properties of electro-rheological liquid polymeric blends

The bridging of the electrodes by the induced columnar structure of urethan e-modified polypropylene glycol (UPPG) is a dominant feature of the respons e of electro-rheological UPPG/dimethylsiloxane polymeric blends to the impo sed electric field. The breaking up and formation of the bridging columns i n flow is described as a stochastic process affecting the macroscopic flow behaviour of blends modelled by the Maxwell-like rheological equation. The results show that the proposed theological equation describes well the theo logical characteristics measured at steady and transient shear-flows. (C) 1 999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.