Rheometers, rotational

Rheological Rheometers (rotational, capillary, etc.) Cooling rates <0.5 K/s Shear rates <1000 s ... 

Torque Applications Rheometer Rotational Rheometer Capillary Rheometer DMA DSC TG/DTA TMA DBS... 

Devices used for flow-induced crystallization (FIC) experiments are aU types of rheometers rotational plate/plate, cone/plate, Couette, sliding plates, capillary rheometers, including the multipass rheometer (MPR) [24-26], and shear devices in-house built [27], Linkam shear cell [28,29], fiber pull-out [30-34], FS, and complex flows and contraction/expansion and cross-slot [35-38]. 

A number of instmments are based on the extmsion principle, including sHt flow and normal capidary flow (Table 6). These instmments are useful when large numbers of quahty control or other melt viscosity test measurements are needed for batches of a single material or similar materials. When melt viscosities of a wide range of materials must be measured, rotational viscometers are preferable. Extmsion rheometers have been appHed to other materials with some success with adhesives and coatings (10,161). 

Another type of rotational viscometer is the hehcal-screw rheometer (176). This iastmment is basically a screw-type metering pump that does not pump. The measure of force is the pressure difference resulting from the rotational motion. It is possible to use a bank of pressure transducers of different sensitivities to measure viscosity over a wide range. The iastmment can be used for high temperature rheometry and to foUow polymerkation, shear and heat degradation, and other developments. 

Specific Commercial Rotational Viscometers. Information on selected commercial rotational viscometers can be found ia Table 7. The ATS RheoSystems Stresstech rheometer is an iastmment that combines controlled stress as well as controlled strain (shear rate) and oscillatory measurements. It has a torque range of 10 to 50 mN-m, an angular velocity range of 0 to 300 rad/s, and a frequency range of seven decades. Operation and temperature programming (—30 to 150°C higher temperatures optional) are computer controlled. 

The Weissenberg Rheogoniometer (49) is a complex dynamic viscometer that can measure elastic behavior as well as viscosity. It was the first rheometer designed to measure both shear and normal stresses and can be used for complete characteri2ation of viscoelastic materials. Its capabiUties include measurement of steady-state rotational shear within a viscosity range of 10 — mPa-s at shear rates of, of normal forces (elastic... 

The measuring modes of rotation rheometers can be divided in the following manner ... 

Another typical example of inhomogeneity in rheometry is the oxidation of a polymer in a rotational rheometer in which a disk-shaped sample is held between metal fixtures. The oxygen enters the sample through the free surface (at the outer diameter) and diffuses radially inwards. The result is a radial gradient in properties which changes with time. If the reaction with oxygen results in... 

The viscosity of a liquid can also be determined by measuring the torque needed to rotate a cylinder in the liquid. Brookfield viscometers and rheometers fall into this class of instrument (Fig. 3.7). The viscometer measures the torque produced when a spindle is rotated at constant velocity in a liquid. The Rheometer produces a constant torque... 

The rheometer most often used to measure viscosity at low shear rates is the cone and plate viscometer. A schematic of a cone and plate rheometer is found in Fig. 3.24. The device is constructed with a moving cone on the top surface and a stationary plate for the lower surface. The polymer sample is positioned between the surfaces. Two types of experiments can be performed the cone can be rotated at a constant angular velocity, or it can be rotated in a sinusoidal function. The motion of the cone creates a stress on the polymer between the cone and the plate. The stress transferred to the plate provides a torque that is measured using a sensor. The torque is used to determine the stress. The constant angle of the cone to the plate provides an experimental regime such that the shear rate is a constant at all radii in the device. That is, the shear rate is independent of the radial position on the cone, and thus the shear stress is also independent of the position on the cone. 

The relative viscosity rj and storage modulus G were determined by Cirkel and Okada in experiments using a rheometer in oscillatory rotational mode and Couette sample geometry as a function of Nafion volume fraction, cp, and angular frequency, a>, for the acid and sodium forms at 25 °C. Parallel experiments... 

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