Rheology and shear induced structures in surfactant solutions

We review recent developments concerning flow properties and shear induced structures in surfactant solutions. Different lyotropic phases, i.e. isotropic solutions of wormlike micelles, as well as nematic and lamellar liquid crystalline phases are discussed. Special attention is given to studies involving a combination of rheological experiments with structure sensitive techniques as, e.g. rheo-optical or rheo-NMR measurements. Recent investigations exploring time-resolved experiments to follow the processes of shear induced structural changes are included. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.