  We present important new results from light-microscopy and rheometry on a
moderately concentrated lyotropic smectic, with and without particulate
additives. Shear-treatment aligns the phase rapidly, except for a striking
network of oily-streak defects, which anneals out much more slowly. If
spherical particles several microns in diameter are dispersed in the lamellar
medium, part of the defect network persists under shear-treatment, its nodes
anchored on the particles. The sample as prepared has substantial storage and
loss moduli, both of which decrease steadily under shear-treatment. Adding
particles enhances the moduli and retards their decay under shear. The data for
the frequency-dependent storage modulus after various durations of
shear-treatment can be scaled to collapse onto a single curve. The elasticity
and dissipation in these samples thus arises mainly from the defect network,
not directly from the smectic elasticity and hydrodynamics.
