Non-constant link tension coefficient in the tumbling-snake model subjected to simple shear

The authors of the present study have recently presented evidence that the tumbling-snake model for polymeric systems has the necessary capacity to predict the appearance of pronounced undershoots in the time-dependent shear viscosity as well as an absence of equally pronounced undershoots in the transient two normal stress coefficients. The undershoots were found to appear due to the tumbling behavior of the director u when a rotational Brownian diffusion term is considered within the equation of motion of polymer segments, and a theoretical basis concerning the use of a link tension coefficient given through the nematic order parameter had been provided. The current work elaborates on the quantitative predictions of the tumbling-snake model to demonstrate its capacity to predict undershoots in the time-dependent shear viscosity. These predictions are shown to compare favorably with experimental rheological data for both polymer melts and solutions, help us to clarify the microscopic origin of the observed phenomena, and demonstrate in detail why a constant link tension coefficient has to be abandoned. Published by AIP Publishing.