• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.169-173
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• 2004

The control of the rheological properties of a fluid during processing is important and can determine the efficiency of the production in addition to the performance of the final product. The vast majority of process fluids are viscoelastic, hence an instrument that measures both the viscous and elastic properties of the material during processing would be of great practical use. However, most in-line instruments commercially available to date are only capable of measuring viscosity at a single shear rate. An in-line rheometer that measures both the viscous and elastic properties of fluids over a wide range of shear rates simultaneously has been described in a previous publication (Glasscock et at., 2003) in which the results of measurements on flowing sunflower oil were presented. Before this instrument can be used in an industrial situation, it must be demonstrated that the generated results are the same as, or bear some fixed relationship to, the results obtained by conventional off-line rheometers. To this end, the present investigation describes the measurements of a standard reference fluid, polyisobutylene dissolved in 2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane, labelled SRM2490 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA. The results obtained using the in-line rheometer show remarkably good correlation for viscosity, using a modified Cox­Merz rule, with the results supplied with the reference material from NIST.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.255-263
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• 1999

Blends of two thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers, HX2000 and Vectra A950, were prepared by melt blending. Effects of transesterification on these blends are investigated by comparing properties of the blends with and without the addition of an inhibitor, in terms of blend miscibility and rheology. Both the uninhibited and inhibited blends are found to be largely immiscible with very limited miscibility in HX2000-rich phase. No strong evidence indicates the occurrence of transesterification in the blends in the solid state. Dynamic rheological behaviour, such as shear storage modulus (G') and shear loss modulus (G") as a function of frequency, of the blends are interpreted by a three-zone model. HX2000 shows terminal-zone and plateau-zone behaviour, whilst Vectra A950 shows plateau-zone and transition-zone behaviour. The un- inhibited blends show plateau-zone behaviour up to 50% Vectra A950 content and the inhibited blends show plateau-zone behaviour up to 60% Vectra A950 content. Compositional dependence of the complex viscosities of the uninhibited and inhibited blends displayed positive deviations from additivity, which is a characteristic feature for the immiscible thermoplastic blends. When under steady shear, both the uninhibited and inhibited blends show shear thinning behaviour and their viscosities decrease monotonically with the addition of Vectra A950. Compositional dependence of the steady shear viscosities of the two sets of blends displayed negative deviations from additivity and the uninhibited blends were more viscous than the inhibited blends for the full composition range. Although limited agreement with the Cox-Merz rule is found for the inhibited blends, these two sets of blends, in general, do not follow the rule due to their liquid crystalline order and two-phase morphology. Despite being immiscible blends, transesterification, such as polymerization, in the blends might occur during the rheological characterization, supported by the facts that uninhibited blends show HX2000-dominant behaviour at lower Vectra A950 content and are more viscous than the inhibited blends. The addition of transesterification inhibitor in such blends is advised if only physical mixing is desired.ired.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.125-131
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• 2007

Biodegradable polymeric blends are expected to be widely used by industry due to their environmental friendliness and comparable mechanical and thermal properties. Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) are such biodegradable polymers which aim to replace commodity polymers in future applications. Since cost and brittleness of PLA is quite high, it is not economically feasible to use it alone for day to day use as a packaging material without blending. In this study, blends of PLA and PBS with various compositions were prepared by using a laboratory-scale twin-screw extruder at $180^{\circ}C$. Morphological, thermal, rheological and mechanical properties were investigated on the samples obtained by compression molding to explore suitability of these compositions for packaging applications. Morphology of the blends was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Morphology showed a clear phase difference trend depending on blend composition. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) thermograms of the blends indicated that the glass transition temperature ($T_g$) of PLA did not change much with the addition of PBS, but analysis showed that for PLA/PBS blend of up to 80/20 composition there is partial miscibility between the two polymers. The tensile strength and modulus were measured by the Instron Universal Testing Machine. Tensile strength, modulus and percentage (%) elongation at break of the blends decreased with PBS content. However, tensile strength and modulus values of PLA/PBS blend for up to 80/20 composition nearly follow the mixing rule. Rheological results also show miscibility between the two polymers for PBS composition less than 20% by weight. PBS reduced the brittleness of PLA, thus making it a contender to replace plastics for packaging applications. This work found a partial miscibility between PBS and PLA by investigating thermal, mechanical and morphological properties.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 1999

The shear behavior of polymers obtained by means of devices such as capillary and cone-and-plate rheo-meters is commonly used to assess their processing performance and as a characterization tool. However, the number of instances when two polymers have the same shear properties but perform differently during certain types of processing operations (e.g. film blowing and sheet extrusion) indicate that shear properties alone may not be sufficient to characterize polymeric fluids. We begin by defining the kinematics of shear-free or extensional flow and the associated material functions. The extensional and shear behavior of three different types of polyethylene (PE) are then compared to illustrate the points that one cannot ascertain the extensional properties of polymer melts from their shear properties and, furthermore, there may not be a simple relation between properties obtained from one type of extensional flow and those of another type. The kinematics of most processing flows are extensional rather than shear in nature, and , hence, the performance of polymers during processes such as fiber spinning, film casting, film blowing, thermoforming, blow molding, and even extrusion is more readily accounted for through extensional viscosity measurements. Methods for carrying out extensional flow measurements are then reviewed including approximate methods. To illustrate the sensitivity of extensional viscosity measurements to subtle changes in the molecular architecture of PEs, results are presented for samples with a narrow molecular weight distribution but with varying numbers of long chain branches. Finally, constitutive equations which allow one to separate shear and extensional flow behavior are discussed as any attempts to simulate the subtle processing differences between two polymers will require constitutive equations of this nature.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.79-85
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• 2005

Aqueous mixtures of hyaluronic acid and poly(vinyl alcohol) system and hydrogels thereof were introduced to obtain new bioartificial materials that have excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility and enhanced rheological properties. The interactions between hyaluronic acid and poly(vinyl alcohol) and/or borax were investigated by rheological measurements. Preparation parameters of the aqueous mixtures were mixture composition, the degree of hydrolysis of poly(vinyl alcohol) and borax concentration. From the rheological behavior, it could be deduced that the key factor of the interaction between hyaluronic acid and poly(vinyl alcohol) was the hydrogen bonding between them and the effect was pronounced with borax. Enhanced viscosity was observed at the composition of $20wt\%$ of hyaluronic acid solution and $80wt\%$ of poly(vinyl alcohol) and borax solution. Rheological properties were influenced by the degree of hydrolysis of poly(vinyl alcohol) and borax concentration. As the degree of hydrolysis and borax concentration increased, rheological properties increased due to the increased hydrogen bonding and networking of hyaluronate aggregates. Physical hydrogels from hyaluronic acid and poly(vinyl alcohol) were prepared and the composition dependence of the gels was rheologically investigated as well.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.171-181
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• 2006

We present a short review for authors' previous work on direct numerical simulations for inertialess hard particle suspensions formulated either with a Newtonian fluid or with viscoelastic polymeric fluids to understand the microstructural evolution and the bulk material behavior. We employ two well-defined bi-periodic domain concepts such that a single cell problem with a small number of particles may represent a large number of repeated structures: one is the sliding bi-periodic frame for simple shear flow and the other is the extensional bi-periodic frame for planar elongational flow. For implicit treatment of hydrodynamic interaction between particle and fluid, we use the finite-element/fictitious-domain method similar to the distributed Lagrangian multiplier (DLM) method together with the rigid ring description. The bi-periodic boundary conditions can be effectively incorportated as constraint equations and implemented by Lagrangian multipliers. The bulk stress can be evaluated by simple boundary integrals of stresslets on the particle boundary in such formulations. Some 2-D example results are presented to show effects of the solid fraction and the particle configuration on the shear and elongational viscosity along with the micro-structural evolution for both particles and fluid. Effects of the fluid elasticity has been also presented.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.118-124
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to analyze the rheology characteristics of insulating concrete for each type of insulation performance improvement material and utilize the result as preliminary data for optimal flow designing and pumping analysis. As a result, when lightweight aggregate was mixed, the yield stress decreased significantly, and in case of type 2, the combination of micro form cell admixture (MFA) and calcined diatomite powder (DM) showed the most ideal flow characteristics. In case of type 3, the combination of micro form cell admixture (MFA), calcined diatomite powder (DM) and lightweight aggregate (L) showed the best flow characteristics.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.55-67
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• 2000

In this paper, an experimental study of the rheological behavior of granular flow in a new type of storage silo is presented. The main characteristic of the new design is a hexagonal shape chosen with the objective of minimizing the stresses applied to the stored grains, and to reduce grain damage during the filling and emptying processes. Measurements of stress distribution and flow patterns are shown for a variety of granular materials. Because of the design of the silo, the granular material adopts its natural rest angle at all times eliminating collisional stresses and impacts between grains. A homogeneous, low friction flow is naturally achieved which provides a controlled stress distribution throughout the silo during filling and emptying. Secondary dynamic stresses, which are responsible for wall failure in conventional silos of the vertical type, are completely eliminated. A comparison between the two geometries is presented with data obtained for these silos and a number of granular materials. The discharge pattern inhibits powder formation in the silo and the filling system virtually eliminates unwanted material packing. Finally, notwithstanding the rheological advantages of this new design, the hexagonal cells that constitute the silo have many other advantages, such as the possible use of solar energy to control the humidity inside them. The cell type design allows for versatile storage capabilities and the elevation above the ground provides unlimited transportation facilities during emptying.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.463-464
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• 2007

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.392-393
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• 2006

Direct Printing Process is a suitable fabrication technique to develope pigment components whose dimensions are in nano. The success of this process depends on the sysmatic preparation of pigment millbase. Conventional millbase dispersions are constituted of the organic pigments, monomer, dispersant and solvents. An experimental study on the rheology of millbase dispersions is presented.