The "disentanglement" work which I started in 1996 was based on this new modelization of the entanglement network by these Cross-Dual-Phases.
I designed and built a "Rheo-Fluidizer" in 1999 to combine cross-lateral shear flow and pressure flow (from an extruder die) to trigger "disentanglement" in polymer melts. By "disentanglement" I meant to describe the non-equilibrium entanglement state induced by complex flow. My idea was that the stability of the entanglement network controlled the terminal relaxation time from which the viscosity derived. If I was able to destabilize the network of entanglements in a way which affected the terminal time, I could control the viscosity, at least temporarily, the time the network of entanglement returned to equilibrium. I ran experiments with the Rheo-fluidication apparatus for 6 years. It took me another 5 years to understand what I had found empirically and learn the classical concepts of reptation to be able to compare my analysis with other currently admitted models of melt deformation.
I have now accumulated enough convincing evidence from the experimental data acquired from 2000 to 2006 to claim that, indeed, we need a new understanding of polymer physics. The currently admitted views about "entanglements" are limited to the cases the network of entanglements is STABLE, i.e. in the domain of small deformation (linear visco-elastic behavior). In all other situations, in particular under conditions of flow practiced in the industry, polymer physics must be re-written. This seems bluntly said, yet this is what I suggest to do in this new research.
Therefore, I propose to reconsider the physics behind visco-elasticity to incorporate the non-linear phenomena in its description without the need to express it as a deviation from the linear regime. This requires, however, to redefine what entanglements are, and I use the Cross-Dual- Statistics, which is an expression of the Grain-Field Statistics, to do just that.
The Cross-Dual-Phase Equations are given in the pdf file downloadable at the bottom of this page.