Rheology of nematic solutions of rodlike chains: Comparison of theory and experiment

The rheological properties of nematic solutions of rodlike polymers are discussed, giving comparisons between theoretical results and certain experiments. Most of the theoretical treatments are based on application of the Leslie-Ericksen constitutive equation. The experimental data considered include distortion in a magnetic field and flow in shearing deformation over a range of shear rate, including rheo-optical observations. In general, it appears that the available theory does not describe a number of the features observed.