Rheological constant stress rheometer

Rheological measurements on the slurry have been performed by Bohlin rheometer model VOR and constant stress rheometer C.. These two units combined are powerful enough to analyze slurries completely in viscometry, oscillatory and relaxation tests. Injection molding compound is fully characterized rheologically using capillary rheometer. 

It is now important to calculate the stress exerted by the particles. This stress is equal to aApgfZ. For polystyrene latex particles with radius 1.55 pm and density 1.05 g cm , this stress is equal to 1.6 x 10 Pa. Such stress is lower than the critical stress for most EH EC solutions. In this case, one would expect a correlation between the settling velocity and the zero shear viscosity. This is illustrated in Chapter 7, whereby v/a is plotted versus 7(0). A linear relationship between log( /a ) and log 7(0) is obtained, with a slope of —1, over three decades of viscosity. This indicated that the settling rate is proportional to [7(0)] . Thus, the settling rate of isolated spheres in non-Newtonian (pseudo-plastic) polymer solutions is determined by the zero shear viscosity in which the particles are suspended. As discussed in Chapter 7, on rheological measurements, determination of the zero shear viscosity is not straightforward and requires the use of constant stress rheometers. 

Rheological properties of the gels were performed with a constant stress rheometer (Rheolyst ARIOOO N, TA Instruments) with a cone and plate geometry (cone diameter 40 mm and 2° angle). Rheological experiments were cmied out in steady flow, creep and dynamic oscillation modes over a wide range of shear rates, frequencies, temperatures and time. To prevent evaporation of the hydrocarbon a solvent trap (as supplied by TA Instruments) was installed for all experimrats. 

Experimentally, the dynamic shear moduli are usually measured by applying sinusoidal oscillatory shear in constant stress or constant strain rheometers. This can be in parallel plate, cone-and-plate or concentric cylinder (Couette) geometries. An excellent monograph on rheology, including its application to polymers, is provided by Macosko (1994). 

Rheological measurements were performed in a stress rheometer fixture with a 2-cm cone and plate having a 1° cone angle and gap of 27 pm. Dynamic shear moduli were measured at 0.5% strain between 0.1 and 100 rad/s. Creep compliance was measured with a constant applied stress in the range of 0.1 to 5 kPa. Both measurements were performed over a series of temperatures to obtain data for time-temperature superposition. 

Measuring yield stress of concentrated suspensions can be carried out using various rheological techniques that can be broadly classified under two categories the controlled rate rheometry and the controlled stress rheometry. A controlled rate rheometer deforms a specimen at a constant shear rate and measures the shear stress. On the other hand, a controlled stress rheometer imposes a constant shear stress on a specimen and then measures the corresponding strain. The latter approach involves a more sophisticated control system and is only introduced in the last ten years. These techniques can be further classified as direct (or static) or indirect methods (or dynamic). The indirect determination of yield stress involves the extrapolation of experimental shear stress - shear rate data to obtain a yield stress, which is the shear stress at zero shear rate. This is illustrated in Figure 9. It is evident that the choice of the model or methods yield differing values of yield stress. 

Rheology is a powerful method for the characterization of HA properties. In particular, rotational rheometers are particularly suitable in studying the rheological properties of HA. In such rheometers, different geometries (cone/plate, plate/plate, and concentric cylinders) are applied to concentrated, semi-diluted, and diluted solutions. A typical rheometric test performed on a HA solution is the so-called "flow curve". In such a test, the dynamic viscosity (q) is measured as a function of the shear rate (7) at constant strain (shear rate or stress sweep). From the flow curve, the Newtonian dynamic viscosity (qo), first plateau, and the critical shear rate ( 7 c), onset of non-Newtonian flow, could be determined. 

We have seen that rheometers capable of accurate measiuements of extensional flow properties are limited to use at low Hencky strain rates, usually well below 10 s . In order to reach higher strain rates, the drawdown of an extruded filament ( melt spinning ) and the converging flow into an orifice die or capillary have been used to determine an apparent extensional viscosity . Since the stress and strain are not imiform in these flows, it is necessary to model the flow in order to interpret data in terms of material functions or constants. And such a simulation must incorporate a rheological model for the melt under study, but if a reliable rheological model were available, the experiment would not be necessary. This is the basic problem with techniques in which the kinematics is neither controlled nor known with precision. It is necessary to make a rather drastically simplified flow analysis to interpret the data in terms of some approximate material function. 

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