Exponential shear flows of polymer melts are investigated. These flows are
of interest because they share some properties of both planar extension and
simple, constant-rate, shear. In particular, embedded points separate expo
nentially in time, like extensional flows, yet the flow direction and veloc
ity gradient are perpendicular, as for all shear deformations. A comparison
between the predictions of the "pom-pom" molecular model of McLeish and La
rson [J. Rheol. 42, 81-110 (1998)] in exponential shear and experimental da
ta is presented. The solutions in exponential shear are used to contrast th
is flow with simple shear and extensional flows and the physical processes
driving the solutions are analyzed in each of the three geometries. Accurat
e quantitative predictions are made using the multimode approach, land the
possibility of using exponential shear to obtain the multimode nonlinear sp
ectrum of a melt is explored. It is concluded that although exponential she
ar is less effective than extensional flows at exposing the influence of th
e nonlinear parameters of a melt, there are still situations where it is a
useful flow for obtaining these parameters. (C) 2001 The Society of Rheolog
y.