An important spin-off will be improved numerical techniques for process modeling.
Many researchers attribute spurt to loss of adhesion at the wall.
This project investigates an alternative explanation. Professor Malkus believes that many polymer processing instabilities that limit processing rates and degrade extruded product quality are probably due to bulk material properties rather than slippage at the wall, an admittedly more popular current hypothesis. Malkus proposes that another mechanism of instability occurs, particularly in monodisperse polymer systems. Either alone or with slip, this new mechanism could be responsible for many process failures. The key is in using non-monotonic constitutive equations.