Phase-separation Phenomena in Polymer Solutions

Liquid-liquid phase separation in concentrated solutions of non-crystallizable polymers by spinodal decomposition

In the past, investigations of phase separation in concentrated polymer solutions centered first of all on the crystallization kinetics (1) and morphology (2) of polymer crystals growing from solutions and, secondly, on the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of liquid-liquid phase separation phenomena (3). Papkov and Yefimova (4) have recently given a classification of different types of phas...

Modified models of polymer phase separation.

In this paper we discuss continuum models of phase separation in polymer solutions, with emphasis on the thermodynamic foundation of these models. We demand that these models obey a free energy dissipation relation, which in the present context plays the role of the second law of thermodynamics, since the system is isothermal. First, we derive a modified two-fluid model for viscoelastic phase s...

Phase-Destabilization Mechanism of Polymer-Modified Bitumens in Quiescent Annealing

Bitumen as a binder in coating and insulating materials is modified with polymers to improve its performance in service conditions. Almost all polymers are incompatible with bitumen, and at high temperatures due to relatively very low viscosity of the bitumen phase, are separated from it. These lead to a considerable limitation in the use and handling of polymer-modified bitumens. An understand...

Simple tools for complex phenomena: viscoelastic phase separation captured by disconnectable springs.

Viscoelastic phase separation is characterized by the formation of a transient gel upon phase separation. A transient gel state is widely observed in complex fluids including polymer solutions, colloidal suspensions, and protein solutions, but its physical description is quite difficult due to its intrinsically nonequilibrium nature. We have modeled this transient gel state using a type of Brow...

comparison between to versions of the SAFT EOS in the study of PVT and VLE phase behavior of pure polymer melts and binary polymer solutions