Abstract: | The recoverable shear strain (SR) for the liquid crystal‐forming hydroxypropyl cellulose solutions was determined by means of a concentric cylinder rotational apparatus as functions of shear stress prior to recovery and concentration of the solutions at 30°C. SR greatly depended on shear stress and concentration; the phase of the solution (the single phase or biphase) governed the dependences of SR on stress and concentration. SR increased with increasing stress for the single phase and decreased for the biphase. SR seemed to be related to the die swell (B): SR ∝ Bn. SR exhibited a maximum and a minimum with respect to concentration. SR for the cellulosic cholesteric liquid crystalline solutions was greater than that for the isotropic solutions. A model was proposed for explaining the greater SR. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 865–872, 2002 |