Phase separation of liquid mixtures under shear flow

Abstract
The effect of external hydrodynamics can have a marked effect on phase transition in pure fluids and liquid mixtures. These systems belong to the same universality class as the 3-D Ising model. The effect of a shear flow in the one-phase region of liquid mixtures can induce a transition to a mean-field behavior. The critical temperature can be shifted. The dynamics of the phase transition can be considerably altered; ultimately anisotropic two-dimensional growth can be observed.