Spatio-temporal oscillations and rheochaos in a simple model of shear banding

Abstract

We study a simple model of shear banding in which the flow-induced phase is destabilised by coupling between flow and microstructure (wormlike micellar length). By varying the strength of the instability and the applied shear rate, we find a rich variety of oscillatory and rheochaotic shear banded flows. At low shear and weak instability, the induced phase pulsates in width next to one wall of the flow cell. For stronger instability, single or multiple high shear pulses ricochet across the cell. At high shear rates we observe oscillating bands on either side of a defect. In some cases, multiple such defects exist and propagate across the cell to interact with each other. We discuss our results in the context of recent observations of oscillating and fluctuating shear banded flows.