Fluids, structured fiber suspensions

Chen, B, Tatsumi, D., Matsumoto, T. 2002. Floe Structure and Flow Properties of Pulp Fiber Suspensions. /, Soc. Rheol, fpn. 30 (1) 19-25 Dedegil, M.Y. 1987. Drag Coefficient and Settling Velocity of Particles in Non-Newtonian Suspensions. Journal of Fluids Engineering 109 (3) 319-323. 

There are no equivalent studies of concentrated anisotropic suspensions. This is because of the tendency of anisotropic particles to form oriented ordered structures such as micro-bundles of fibers. Batchelor [45] has modeled the flow of concentrated suspensions of large parallel fibers. Very large elongational viscosities are predicted. This was extended to suspensions in non-Newtonian fluids by Goddard [46]. 

The characteristics of incorporated fillers influence the rheological properties of TLCPs. Moreover, the fibre orientation is also influenced by the rod like molecules of LCPs (Ramazani et al. 2001). In general, the diameter of TLCP fibers is 1 pm (or less) compared to 10-15 pm length typically observed for glass fibers (Laun 1984). For particles of 10 pm or larger, the hydrodynamic interactions can cause a change in the velocity distribution in the vicinity of other fibers (Barnes 2003). Fiber-fiber collisions may also influence suspension viscosity by creating anisotropic structures in the fluid. 

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