Dr. Brian J. Edwards

Our research develops and applies new methodology for quantifying dynamical responses in complex materials, such as polymer solutions, melts, liquid crystals, and multiphase fluids. Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics: Over the past ten years, we have developed a new methodology for applying thermodynamics to the dynamical responses of nonequilibrium systems. This methodology allows one to quantify the dynamics of any material by realizing the mathematical structure imbedded within any physically realistic set of model equations. Knowledge of this structure allows one not only to model a particular material on a given level of description, but also to transfer information from one level to another, thereby optimizing physical predictive power with computational efficiency. Rheological Characterization and Modeling of Polymeric Fluids: One application of the methodology discussed above is concerned with the flow properties of non-Newtonian polymeric materials under industrial processing conditions. By performing atomistic simulations of the fluids under limited conditions of length and time scales, the new methodology can be used to transfer this newly acquired structural knowledge to a level of description that is more amenable to direct computation on larger length and time scales. Hence one obtains more physically realistic dynamical flow equations without undue computational burden.

• Rheological models with microstructural constraints, B.J. Edwards, M. Dressler, M. Grmela, and A. Ait-Kadi, Rheol. Acta, 42, 64-72 (2003).
• A rheological model with constant approximate volume for immiscible blends of ellipsoidal droplets, B.J. Edwards and M. Dressler, Rheol. Acta, 42, 326-337 (2003).
• A numerical study of the measurement of elongational viscosity of polymeric fluids in a semihyperbolically converging die, K. Feigl, F.X. Tanner, B.J. Edwards, and J.R. Collier, J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech., 115, 191-215 (2003).
• A rheological and morphological model for blends of flexible and rigid macromolecules, B.J. Edwards and K.L. Williams, Polym. Sci. Eng., 43, 1778-1787 (2003).
• Modeling shear thickening in dilute polymer solutions: temperature, concentration, and molecular weight dependencies, B. Jiang, D.J. Keffer, B.J. Edwards, and J.N. Allred, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 90, 2997-3011 (2003).
• Evaluation of the thermodynamic consistency of closure approximations in several models proposed for the description of liquid crystalline dynamics, B.J. Edwards, J. Non-Equilib.Thermodyn., 27, 5-24 (2002).
• An examination of the shear-thickening behavior of high-molecular-weight polymers dissolved in low-viscosity Newtonian solvents, B.J. Edwards, D.J. Keffer, and C.W. Reneau, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 85, 1714-1735 (2002).
• The Thermodynamics of Flowing Systems, A.N. Beris and B.J. Edwards, Oxford University Press, New York (1994).