Macroscopic thermodynamics of flowing polymeric liquids

The thermodynamics and mechanics of non-isothermal polymeric fluids are exa mined within the auspices of a new methodology wherein the laws of physics and principles of mechanics which are applicable to these thermodynamic sys tems are imbedded in a definite mathematical structure of a general, abstra ct equation. Such a concept allows new insight to be obtained concerning so me aspects of non-isothermal flows of polymeric fluids, and permits a consi stent expression and interpretation of other thermodynamic theories for the se systems which have been developed over the past forty years. A major por tion of this article is devoted to demonstrating the above statements, and in so doing some common misconceptions occurring in a significant fraction of the literature regarding this subject are exposed. The definite mathemat ical structure of the new methodology permits the thermodynamically consist ent generalization of isothermal, incompressible models of polymeric fluids to non-isothermal, compressible conditions. Doing thus reproduces, correct s, and extends non-isothermal models which have been developed over the yea rs, and also allows for simpler (but equivalent) representations of these m odels in terms of alternate variables with a clearer connection to the micr ostructure of the material than the stress tensor and heat flux vector fiel ds. Furthermore, a generalization of the GENERIC structure is proposed that accommodates interactions between phenomena of differing parities, which i mpose antisymmetry upon the corresponding elements of the dissipative opera tor matrix.