Macromolecular Hydrodynamics
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this graduate course on the physics of polymeric liquids in deformation and flow. Lectures cover kinematics and material functions for complex fluids, viscometry and rheometry techniques, and linear viscoelastic measurement. The course builds up continuum mechanics tools including frame invariance and convected derivatives for finite strain viscoelasticity, then applies differential and integral constitutive equations to analytical flow problems, both isothermal and non-isothermal. Topics include non-Newtonian viscosity, normal stresses, elastic recoil, and stress relaxation as they show up in real processing flows, plus an introduction to molecular theories of polymer dynamics. Instead of a final exam, students complete an extensive class project with a presentation. Materials are freely available online; MIT does not offer a certificate for this OCW course.