William R. Schowalter
Princeton University
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Primary Section: 31, Engineering Sciences Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1998)
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Research Interests
I am interested in the modeling and physical understanding of the flow of polymer melts, polymer solutions, and colloidal suspensions. My interest in colloids has centered on the dynamics of coagulation of colloids in the presence of bulk flow. The magnitude and type of shearing present in the flow have a profound effect on the tendency of material to coagulate or to remain stable. We have explained the physical basis of this effect, as well as the interplay between shearing and Brownian motion as they affect colloid stability. Non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, my second field of sustained research activity, is aimed at uncovering the primary role these mechanics play in the full range of processing operations. Examples include behavior of polymer melts at the surface of a conduit (i.e., stick/slip flow) and viscoelastically driven hydrodynamic instabilities. We have also studied the non-Newtonian properties due to order-disorder transitions of a concentrated suspension.
