Rheology of Wormlike Micelles : Equilibrium Properties and Shear Banding Transition

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent experimental and theoretical findings on wormlike micelles, highlighting their rheological behaviors, shear banding transitions, and structural states like isotropic and nematic phases.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey of micellar rheology, emphasizing the shear banding transition and the structural states in concentrated solutions, advancing understanding of their complex flow behaviors.

Findings

Existence of standard rheological behaviors in micellar solutions

Identification of shear banding transition with a stress plateau

Shear bands are isotropic and nematic in the plateau region

Abstract

We review the experimental and theoretical results obtained during the past decade on the structure and rheology of wormlike micellar solutions. We focus on the linear and nonlinear viscoelasticity and emphasize the analogies with polymers. Based on a comprehensive survey of surfactant systems, the present study shows the existence of standard rheological behaviors for semidilute and concentrated solutions. One feature of this behavior is a shear banding transition associated with a stress plateau in the nonlinear mechanical response. For concentrated solutions, we show that in the plateau region the shear bands are isotropic and nematic.