Experimental Determination of the Elongational Viscosity of Polymer Solutions

A comparative study is performed between elongational flow data obtained from fiber spinning and a numerical scheme based on the expressions derived from an anisotropic FENE dumbbell model, with conformation-dependent hydrodynamic friction, coupled with a differential momentum balance made along the spinning filament. Extensional flow data was obtained by using the Gupta-Sridhar extensional viscometer. The test fluid was an aqueous solution of a copolymer of sodium acrylate and acrylamide (Alcomer 120). From the information obtained by this comparison, we assess the influence of preshearing and other factors on the rheological behavior of polymer solutions using this technique.