A constitutive equation for monodomains of nematic polymers (Q1208977)

Based on the rigid-rod model, a constitutive equation for liquid- crystalline polymers (LCPs) is presented. The constitutive equation is formulated in terms of a fourth-rank tensor (to which stress is related) and it corresponds, in the most general case, to a set of fourteen first- order differential equations. The equation was obtained from the diffusion equation for the orientational distribution function by making use of a closure approximation at the level of the sixth-order moments of the distribution. Although the rods are treated as completely rigid and monodisperse, and no spatial inhomogeneities are considered, most of the peculiar rheological behaviour experimentally determined for LCPs is qualitatively predicted.