Flow properties of a polymeric solution

Figure 1: Evolution of birefringence (top) and flow patterns (bottom) as the flow rate is increased from left to right. Flow enters the 4-way junction through top and bottom channels and exits through the left and right-hand channels. At low flow rate (left) flow is stable and symmetric. As the flow rate increases, the birefringence indicates stretching of the polymer and the flow patterns become increasingly distorted.
Figure 1: Evolution of birefringence (top) and flow patterns (bottom) as the flow rate is increased from left to right. Flow enters the 4-way junction through top and bottom channels and exits through the left and right-hand channels. At low flow rate (left) flow is stable and symmetric. As the flow rate increases, the birefringence indicates stretching of the polymer and the flow patterns become increasingly distorted.
Copyright OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 沖縄科学技術大学院大学). Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).