Steady Shear Flow Properties of Aqueous Poly(Ethylene Oxide) Solutions

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In order to investigate systematically the steady shear flow properties of aqueous po1y(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions having various molecular weights and concentrations, the steady flow viscosity has been measured with a Rheometrics Fluids Spectrometer (RFS II) over a wide range of shear rates. The effects of shear rate, concentration, and molecular weight on the steady shear flow properties were reported in detail from the experimentally measured data, and then the results were interpreted using the concept of a material characteristic time. In addition, some flow models describing the non-Newtonian behavior (shear-thinning characteristics) of polymeric liquids were employed to make a quantitative evaluation of the steady flow behavior, and the applicability of these models was examined by calculating the various material parameters. Main results obtained from this study can be summarized as follows: (1) At low shear rates, aqueous PEO solutions show a Newtonian viscous behavior which is independent of shear rate. At shear rate region higher than a critical shear rate, however, they exhibit a shear-thinning behavior, demonstrating a decrease in steady flow viscosity with increasing shear rate. (2) As an increase in concentration and/or molecular weight, the zero-shear viscosity is increased while the Newtonian viscous region becomes narrower. Moreover, the critical shear rate at which the transition from the Newtonian to shear-thinning behavior occurs is decreased, and the shear-thinning nature becomes more remarkable. (3) Aqueous PEO solutions show a Newtonian viscous behavior at shear rate range lower than the inverse value of a characteristic time $1/{\lambda}_E$, while they exhibit a shear-thinning behavior at shear rate range higher than $1/{\lambda}_E$. For aqueous PEO solutions having a broad molecular weight distribution, the inverse value of a characteristic time is not quantitatively equivalent to the critical shear rate, but the power-law relationship holds between the two quantities. (4) The Cross, Carreau, and Carreau-Yasuda models are all applicable to describe the steady flow behavior of aqueous PEO solutions. Among these models, the Carreau-Yasuda model has the best validity.