Auto-processing of very fine-scale composite materials by chaotic mixing of melts

A processing technique is presented in which very fine fibres or lamellae emerge from single or multiple, molten, discrete phase precursors contained within a continuous molten phase as a result of three-dimensional chaotic mixing. Conditions for chaotic mixing in a previously uninvestigated cylindrical cavity were established experimentally and numerically with glycerin as a surrogate fluid. Chaotic mixing was then induced within a similar cavity to produce polymeric composites. Optical micrographs of the solidified emergent structures are provided and the association between the fine-scale microstructures and the chaotic mixing process is presented. The results suggest opportunities to produce a variety of very fine-scale composite structures by alternative means.