Experimental study of the collision between a rod like macromolecule and a solid surface

The sliding collision effect assumed in previous simulations as a parametric limit, J. Comput. Mater. Sci. 20 (2001) 213, is checked experimentally. Dilute solutions of non-Brownian microscopic rod like polyamide fibers (length=500 μm, diameter=14.5 μm) in a Newtonian silicon oil 47V100 fluid under shear are examined near an impenetrable solid surface. We develop experimental tools to observe the collision dynamics of the edges of these microscopic fibers with a solid surface. It is observed that slide collisions are possible and occur although at a lesser frequency than the rotation collisions. Although differences between the dynamic behavior of the collisions of microscopic fibers and nanometre rod like macromolecules are to be expected and remain unknown, these experiments confirm our theoretical model and the validity of the restitution assumption proposed previously.