Polymers in Shear Flow Near Repulsive Boundaries

We report the results of computer simulations of polymers with excluded-volume interactions, in simple shear flow between impenetrable walls. The projections of the polymer radius and the end-to-end distance along and perpendicular to the flow direction, the monomer and center of mass distributions, and the surface excess are studied as a function of the distance from the wall. Contrary to recent evanescent wave-induced fluorescence studies, we find that the width of the depletion layer near the wall decreases with increasing shear rate. Possible reasons for the discrepancy are discussed.