Extension of dynamics of polymeric liquids methodology to new areas

We investigate analogies between the methodology typical of the dynamics of polymeric liquids with those used in a seemingly entirely unrelated area, viz., granular flow theory and we show that the essential conceptual content of the approach is in fact the same in both areas. We also discuss the theory of compressible flow of granular materials, something for which an analogy with the dynamics of polymeric liquids is not available, but an area where similarities and crucial differences with classical compressible flow theory are of interest. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.