Morphology and rheology of an immiscible polymer blend subjected to a step electric field under shear flow.

We have investigated the structural change of an immiscible polymer blend in shear flow when subjected to a step electric field. During the process three-dimensional images were successfully constructed with a confocal scanning laser microscope and at the same time the transient shear stress was also measured. The interface tensor was calculated from the images. Several factors are incorporated into the shear stress, such as the bulk viscosity, the interfacial tension and the Maxwell stress. We performed an experiment to separate the Maxwell stress from the total shear stress. The results are discussed in terms of the interface tensor.