A phenomenological model for the viscosity reductions in blends of HMMPE containing a small quantity of thermotropic liquid crystalline copolyester HBA/HQ/SA

In this paper, we present a phenomenological model for the viscosity changes in bulk high molecular mass polyethylene (HMMPE) due to the addition of a very small quantity of a main chain longitudinal thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP) containing flexible spacers. The chain alignment in the elongated TLCP domains causes chain alignment and disengagement in the neighboring HMMPE melt. In converging capillary flows, this occurs at a certain critical centerline velocity. After the onset of such transition, melt of elongated chain conformations forms from the center core and expands towards the capillary wall with increasing flow rates. The model successfully predicts both the drastic viscosity reduction effects and the critical yield stress in the HMMPE+TLCP blends without any adjustable parameters. Our model is also applicable to other systems that undergo flow-induced phase transitions, e.g. in biphasic liquid crystalline polymer melts.