Shear rate number

Drops coalesce because of coUisions and drainage of Hquid trapped between colliding drops. Therefore, coalescence frequency can be defined as the product of coUision frequency and efficiency per coUision. The coUision frequency depends on number of drops and flow parameters such as shear rate and fluid forces. The coUision efficiency is a function of Hquid drainage rate, surface forces, and attractive forces such as van der Waal s. Because dispersed phase drop size depends on physical properties which are sometimes difficult to measure, it becomes necessary to carry out laboratory experiments to define the process mixing requirements. A suitable mixing system can then be designed based on satisfying these requirements. 

For a Hquid under shear the rate of deformation or shear rate is a function of the shearing stress. The original exposition of this relationship is Newton s law, which states that the ratio of the stress to the shear rate is a constant, ie, the viscosity. Under Newton s law, viscosity is independent of shear rate. This is tme for ideal or Newtonian Hquids, but the viscosities of many Hquids, particularly a number of those of interest to industry, are not independent of shear rate. These non-Newtonian Hquids may be classified according to their viscosity behavior as a function of shear rate. Many exhibit shear thinning, whereas others give shear thickening. Some Hquids at rest appear to behave like soHds until the shear stress exceeds a certain value, called the yield stress, after which they flow readily. 

Of the models Hsted in Table 1, the Newtonian is the simplest. It fits water, solvents, and many polymer solutions over a wide strain rate range. The plastic or Bingham body model predicts constant plastic viscosity above a yield stress. This model works for a number of dispersions, including some pigment pastes. Yield stress, Tq, and plastic (Bingham) viscosity, = (t — Tq )/7, may be determined from the intercept and the slope beyond the intercept, respectively, of a shear stress vs shear rate plot. 

Results from measurements of time-dependent effects depend on the sample history and experimental conditions and should be considered approximate. For example, the state of an unsheared or undisturbed sample is a function of its previous shear history and the length of time since it underwent shear. The area of a thixotropic loop depends on the shear range covered, the rate of shear acceleration, and the length of time at the highest shear rate. However, measurements of time-dependent behavior can be usehil in evaluating and comparing a number of industrial products and in solving flow problems. 

A parameter used to characterize ER fluids is the Mason number, Af, which describes the ratio of viscous to electrical forces, and is given by equation 14, where S is the solvent dielectric constant T q, the solvent viscosity 7, the strain or shear rate P, the effective polarizabiUty of the particles and E, the electric field (117). 

To solve a flow problem or characterize a given fluid, an instmment must be carefully selected. Many commercial viscometers are available with a variety of geometries for wide viscosity ranges and shear rates (10,21,49). Rarely is it necessary to constmct an instmment. However, in choosing a commercial viscometer a number of criteria must be considered. Of great importance is the nature of the material to be tested, its viscosity, its elasticity, the temperature dependence of its viscosity, and other variables. The degree of accuracy and precision required, and whether the measurements are for quaUty control or research, must be considered. The viscometer must be matched to the materials and processes of interest otherwise, the results may be misleading. 

Capillary viscometers are useful for measuring precise viscosities of a large number of fluids, ranging from dilute polymer solutions to polymer melts. Shear rates vary widely and depend on the instmments and the Hquid being studied. The shear rate at the capillary wall for a Newtonian fluid may be calculated from equation 18, where Q is the volumetric flow rate and r the radius of the capillary the shear stress at the wall is = r Ap/2L. 

With several springs, which function as torque gauges, and a number of spindles, viscosities can be measured up to 10 mPa-s with the Brookfield viscometer. The shear rates depend on the model and the sensor system they are ca 0.1 100 for the disk spindles, <132 for concentric cylinders, and <1500 for the cone—plate forlow viscosity samples. Viscosities at very low (ca 10 — 1 )) shear rates can be measured with the concentric... 

These two instmments form a relatively inexpensive package that allows the characterization of a large number of materials over a wide range of viscosities and shear rates. Brookfield has also developed a digital Stormer-type viscometer (ASTM D562), Model KU-1, which is an improvement over the old manual Stormer. This low shear (- 50 ) viscometer is commonly used to test house paints. 

Additional complications can occur if the mode of deformation of the material in the process differs from that of the measurement method. Most fluid rheology measurements are made under shear. If the material is extended, broken into droplets, or drawn into filaments, the extensional viscosity may be a more appropriate quantity for correlation with performance. This is the case in the parting nip of a roUer in which filamenting paint can cause roUer spatter if the extensional viscosity exceeds certain limits (109). In a number of cases shear stress is the key factor rather than shear rate, and controlled stress measurements are necessary. 

Fig. 5. Shear rate vs viscosity for PDMS. Numbers on curves indicate molecular weights. To convert Pa-s to poise, multiply by 10.

A number of viscometers have been developed for securing viscosity data at temperatures as low as 0 °C (58,59). The most popular instmments in current use are the cone plate (ASTM D3205), parallel plate, and capillary instmments (ASTM D2171 and ASTM D2170). The cone plate can be used for the deterniination of viscosities in the range of 10 to over 10 Pa-s (10 P) at temperatures of 0—70°C and at shear rates from 10 to 10 5 . Capillary viscometers are commonly used for the deterniination of viscosities at 60 —135°C. 

Radial-flow impellers include the flat-blade disc turbine, Fig. 18-4, which is labeled an RlOO. This generates a radial flow pattern at all Reynolds numbers. Figure 18-17 is the diagram of Reynolds num-ber/power number curve, which allows one to calculate the power knowing the speed and diameter of the impeller. The impeller shown in Fig. 18-4 typically gives high shear rates and relatively low pumping capacity. 

In addition to elastic turbulence (characterised by helical deformation) another phenomenon known as sharkskin may be observed. This consists of a number of ridges transverse to the extrusion direction which are often just barely discernible to the naked eye. These often appear at lower shear rates than the critical shear rate for elastic turbulence and seem more related to the linear extrudate output rate, suggesting that the phenomenon may be due to some form of slip-stick at the die exit. It appears to be temperature dependent (in a complex manner) and is worse with polymers of narrow molecular weight distribution. 

Studies of melt flow properties of polypropylene indicate that it is more non-Newtonian than polyethylene in that the apparent viscosity declines more rapidly with increase in shear rate. The melt viscosity is also more sensitive to temperature. Van der Wegt has shown that if the log (apparent viscosity) is plotted against log (shear stress) for a number of polypropylene grades differing in molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and measured at different temperatures the curves obtained have practically the same shape and differ only in position. 

In practice there are a number of other factors to be taken into account. For example, the above analysis assumes that this plastic is Newtonian, ie that it has a constant viscosity, r). In reality the plastic melt is non-Newtonian so that the viscosity will change with the different shear rates in each of the three runner sections analysed. In addition, the melt flow into the mould will not be isothermal - the plastic melt immediately in contact with the mould will solidify. This will continuously reduce the effective runner cross-section for the melt coming along behind. The effects of non-Newtonian and non-isothermal behaviour are dealt with in Chapter 5. 

In a number of works (e.g. [339-341]) the authors sought to superimpose graphically the flow curves of filled melts and polymer solutions with different filler concentrations however, it was only possible to do so at high shear stresses (rates). More often than not it was impossible to obtain a generalized viscosity characteristic at low shear rates, the obvious reason being the structurization of the system. 

Process results, 316, 323, 324 Pumping number, 400 Radial flow, 291 Reynolds number, 299, 303 Scale up, 312-318 Shear rate, 315... 

Because concentrated flocculated suspensions generally have high apparent viscosities at the shear rates existing in pipelines, they are frequently transported under laminar flow conditions. Pressure drops are then readily calculated from their rheology, as described in Chapter 3. When the flow is turbulent, the pressure drop is difficult to predict accurately and will generally be somewhat less than that calculated assuming Newtonian behaviour. As the Reynolds number becomes greater, the effects of non-Newtonian behaviour become... 

Figure 3 illustrates some additional capability of the flow code. Here no pressure gradient is Imposed (this is then drag or "Couette flow only), but we also compute the temperatures resulting from Internal viscous dissipation. The shear rate in this case is just 7 — 3u/3y — U/H. The associated stress is.r — 177 = i/CU/H), and the thermal dissipation is then Q - r7 - i/CU/H). Figure 3 also shows the temperature profile which is obtained if the upper boundary exhibits a convective rather than fixed condition. The convective heat transfer coefficient h was set to unity this corresponds to a "Nusselt Number" Nu - (hH/k) - 1. 

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