Sheared liquids explored by means of neutron scattering

Despite its large economic impact, lubrication has not been well understood up to now. The present paper shows the possible impact of quasielastic and inelastic neutron scattering in this field. Liquids under shear have been investigated using the backscattering instrument IN16 (ILL). Macroscopic and microscopic modes, which can be addressed within the same measurement, have been explored. For a commercial motor oil a macroscopic velocity distribution with surface slip has been found. For a polymer solution (P85 in deuterated water) we report diffusion to slow down under shear. Additionally, diffusion becomes anisotropic under shear for both samples. The experimental data are evaluated quantitatively by using computer simulations which show the limitation of this technique: the quasielastic linewidth should not be larger than the inelastic energy shift from Doppler scattered neutrons