Models of polymer solutions in electrified jets and solution blowing

Fluid flows hosting electrical phenomena are the subject of a fascinating and highly interdisciplinary scientific field. In recent years, the extraordinary success of electrospinning and solution-blowing technologies for the generation of polymer nanofibers has motivated vibrant research aiming at rationalizing the behavior of viscoelastic jets under applied electric fields or other stretching fields including gas streams. Theoretical models unveiled many original aspects in the underpinning physics of polymer solutions in jets and provided useful information to improve experimental platforms. This review examines advances in the theoretical description and numerical simulation of polymer solution jets in electrospinning and solution blowing. Instability phenomena of electrical and hydrodynamic origin, which play a crucial role in the relevant flow physics, are highlighted. Specifications leading to accurate and computationally viable models are formulated. Electrohydrodynamic modeling, theories on jet bending instability, recent advances in Lagrangian approaches to describe the jet flow, including strategies for dynamic refinement of simulations, and effects of strong elongational flow on polymer networks are reviewed. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives in the field are outlined and discussed, including the task of correlating the physics of the jet flows with the properties of relevant materials, as well as the development of multiscale techniques for modeling viscoelastic jets.