Inhomogeneous Flow of Wormlike Micelles: Predictions of the Generalized BMP Model with Normal Stresses

In this work, we examine the shear-banding flow in polymer-like micellar solutions with the generalized Bautista-Manero-Puig (BMP) model. The couplings between flow, structural parameters, and diffusion naturally arise in this model, derived from the extended irreversible thermodynamics (EIT) formalism. Full tensorial expressions derived from the constitutive equations of the model, in addition to the conservation equations, apply for the case of simple shear flow, in which gradients of the parameter representing the structure of the system and concentration vary in the velocity gradient direction. The model predicts shear-banding, concentration gradients, and jumps in the normal stresses across the interface in shear-banding flows.