Shear reversible gels

Reversible shear thinning gel— Methyl, ethyl, etc. vinyl United States 3,810,784 1974 Owens-Corning Fiberglass... 

Thixotropy is a phenomenon that occurs frequently in dispersed systems. It is defined as a reversible, time-dependent decrease in viscosity at a constant shear rate. Generally, a dispersion that shows an isothermal gel-sol-gel transformation is a thixotropic material. The mechanism of thixotropy is the breakdown and reforming of the gel structure. 

The typical viscous behavior for many non-Newtonian fluids (e.g., polymeric fluids, flocculated suspensions, colloids, foams, gels) is illustrated by the curves labeled structural in Figs. 3-5 and 3-6. These fluids exhibit Newtonian behavior at very low and very high shear rates, with shear thinning or pseudoplastic behavior at intermediate shear rates. In some materials this can be attributed to a reversible structure or network that forms in the rest or equilibrium state. When the material is sheared, the structure breaks down, resulting in a shear-dependent (shear thinning) behavior. Some real examples of this type of behavior are shown in Fig. 3-7. These show that structural viscosity behavior is exhibited by fluids as diverse as polymer solutions, blood, latex emulsions, and mud (sediment). Equations (i.e., models) that represent this type of behavior are described below. 

Rheological observations of the UHMWPE pseudo-gels of different concentrations under oscillatory shear conditions at different temperatures showed that these systems exhibit considerable drawability at temperatures above ambient. The deformation of the crystalline phase of the gel-like system is not reversible and, as shown in the sequence of photographs Figure 2, for a pseudo-gel of 4% concentration, it was greater when the sample was sheared under the same oscillatory conditions at higher temperatures. The displaced crystals of the UHMWPE pseudo-gel showed remarkable dimensional stability after shear cessation and removal of any compression load in the optical rotary stage. 

Before and after the works described above, contributions to the design and fabrication of similar multicomponent films or gels of cholesteric character, mainly based on HPC, EC, or their derivatives were also made [202, 219-224], Some of these [219,220,224] dealt with shear-deformed network systems preserving a unique banded structure, so that the disappearance and recovery of the optical anisotropy could be controlled thermo-reversibly. Special mention should be made of the successful preparation of two novel classes of solid materials maintaining cholesteric liquid-crystalline order. One consists of essentially pure cellulose only, and the other is a ceramic silica with an imprint of cellulosic chiral mesomorphy. 

Thixotropy can be defined as an isothermal, reversible, sol-gel transformation and is a behavior common to many foods. Thixotropy is an effect brought about by mechanical action, and it results in a lowered apparent viscosity. When the body is allowed sufficient time, the apparent viscosity will return to its original value. Such behavior would result in a shear stress-rate-of-shear diagram, as given in Figure 8-19. Increasing shear rate results in increased shear stress up to a maximum after the maximum is reached, decreasing shear rates will result in substantially lower shear stress. 

Thixotropy is a rheological property that results in yield stress on standing. Thixotropic flow is defined as a reversible, time-dependent, isothermal gel-sol transition. Thixotropic systems exhibit easy flow at relatively high shear rates. However, when the shear stress is removed, the system is slowly reformed into a structured vehicle. The usual property of thixotropy results from the breakdown and buildup of floccules under stress. A small amount of particle settling takes place until the system develops a sufficiently high yield value. The primary advantage of thixotropic flow is that it confers pourability under shear stress and viscosity and sufficiently high yield stress when the shear stress is removed at rest. 

Thixotropic Pseudoplastic flow that is time-dependent. At constant applied shear rate, viscosity gradually decreases, and in a flow curve hysteresis occurs. That is, after a given shear rate is applied and then reduced, it takes some time for the original dispersed species alignments to be restored. Thixotropy in gels is sometimes termed reversible sol-gel transformation. 

The common approach to maintain minimal polarization is to operate at high shear rates [103] however, this can be harmful to biocatalysts. To decrease gel-layer formation in the surface of the membrane, Hakoda and co-workers [178] applied an electric field of 50 and 100 V to a ceramic membrane module used in the lipolysis of triolein in a reversed micellar system. These authors reported a slight increase in the filtration flux (about 15%), without deleterious effects on enzyme stability for an operation time length of 12 h. The electrokinetic phenomena leading to the observations occurred even in apolar media, since small amounts of water or surfactant were present in such media [178]. 

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