Caltech/UCLA Joint Analysis Seminar

UCLA MS 6627

The Doi model for the suspensions of rod-like molecules in a dilute regime describes the interaction between the orientation of rod-like polymer molecules on the microscopic scale and the macroscopic properties of the uid in which these molecules are contained (cf. Doi and Edwards (1986)). The orientation distribution of the rods on the microscopic level is described by a Fokker-Planck-type equation on the sphere, while the fluid flow is given by the Navier-Stokes equations, which are now enhanced by an additional macroscopic stress reecting the orientation of the rods on the molecular level. This talk will focus on three distinct but related models for polymeric fluids and presents results on the well-posedness of solutions.