Complex miscibility behaviour for polymer blends in flow

Abstract Experimental observations of the effect of shear flow on the miscibility of binary polymer blends are compared to calculations based on a generalized Gibbs energy of mixing Gγ˙. This mixing free energy characterizes the steady state established at shear rateγ˙, as the sum of G z , the equilibrium Gibbs energy and E s , the energy the system stores while flowing.