• 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.18 no.2
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• pp.67-81
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• 2006

Using a strain-controlled rheometer, the dynamic viscoelastic properties of aqueous xanthan gum solutions with different concentrations were measured over a wide range of strain amplitudes and then the linear viscoelastic behavior in small amplitude oscillatory shear flow fields was investigated over a broad range of angular frequencies. In this article, both the strain amplitude and concentration dependencies of dynamic viscoelastic behavior were reported at full length from the experimental data obtained from strain-sweep tests. In addition, the linear viscoelastic behavior was explained in detail and the effects of angular frequency and concentration on this behavior were discussed using the well-known power-law type equations. Finally, a fractional derivative model originally developed by Ma and Barbosa-Canovas (1996) was employed to make a quantitative description of a linear viscoelastic behavior and then the applicability of this model was examined with a brief comment on its limitations. Main findings obtained from this study can be summarized as follows: (1) At strain amplitude range larger than 10%, the storage modulus shows a nonlinear strain-thinning behavior, indicating a decrease in storage modulus as an increase in strain amplitude. (2) At strain amplitude range larger than 80%, the loss modulus exhibits an exceptional nonlinear strain-overshoot behavior, indicating that the loss modulus is first increased up to a certain strain amplitude(${\gamma}_0{\approx}150%$) beyond which followed by a decrease in loss modulus with an increase in strain amplitude. (3) At sufficiently large strain amplitude range (${\gamma}_0>200%$), a viscous behavior becomes superior to an elastic behavior. (4) An ability to flow without fracture at large strain amplitudes is one of the most important differences between typical strong gel systems and concentrated xanthan gum solutions. (5) The linear viscoelastic behavior of concentrated xanthan gum solutions is dominated by an elastic nature rather than a viscous nature and a gel-like structure is present in these systems. (6) As the polymer concentration is increased, xanthan gum solutions become more elastic and can be characterized by a slower relaxation mechanism. (7) Concentrated xanthan gum solutions do not form a chemically cross-linked stable (strong) gel but exhibit a weak gel-like behavior. (8) A fractional derivative model may be an attractive means for predicting a linear viscoelastic behavior of concentrated xanthan gum solutions but classified as a semi-empirical relationship because there exists no real physical meaning for the model parameters.

• 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.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.181-190
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• 2005

Rheological characterisation of flocculated kaolinite pulps has been undertaken to elucidate particle interactions underpinning the dewatering behaviour induced by flocculation with polyethylene oxide (PEO), anionic polyacrylamide (PAM A) and their blends. Shear yield stress $(\tau_y)$ analysis indicated that polymer mediated particle interactions were markedly amplified upon shear of PEG based pulps. In contrast, PAM A based pulps showed a significant decrease in yield values upon shear. Steady stress measurements analysed using a modified Ellis model indicated subtle differences between the respective linear viscoelastic plateaus of the pulps. Furthermore, modified shear thinning behaviour was evident in PEG based pulps. Estimation of elastic and viscous moduli (G', G') was made using dynamic stress analysis for comparison with values determined from vane measurements. Despite a noticeable difference in the magnitude of G' between the two methods, similar trends indicating sheared PEG-based pulps to be more elastic than PAM based pulps, were observed. Floc microstructural observations obtained in support of rheological properties indicate that PEG flocculant induces significantly more compact particle aggregation within the clay pulps under shear consistent with the yield stress data, in contrast to PAM A, or indeed unsheared PEG based pulps. Consequentially, sheared PEG based pulps show significantly improved dewatering behaviour. The implications of the results, potential benefits and drawbacks of flocculation with PEG and PAM A are discussed with respect to improvements in current dewatering processes used in the minerals industry.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.34-43
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• 2000

The melt rheology of four binary blends of ethylene 1-octene copolymers (EOCs) which consist of one component by Ziegler-Natta and another by metallocene catalysts, was studied to elucidate miscibility in the melt by using torsion rheometer at 200$\^{C}$ and different shear rates. The four blend systems, designated into the FA+FM, SF+FM, RF+EN, and RF+PL blend, are divided and interpreted based on the melt index (MI), the density and the comonomer contents. The melt viscosity such asη', η", and η$\^$*/ is weight average value if the comonomer contents are similar, otherwise they show different manner. The experimental resole are analyzed based on the Cole-Cole plot of logη' uersus log η", the logarithmic plots of the dynamic storage modulus (G') versus the dynamic loss modulus (G") for various blend compositions, and the melt viscosity of 11', n", and f" as a function of blend compositions. As a cerise-quence, the FA+FM blend is miscible, but the SF+FM, RF+EN, and RF+PL blends are not in the melt. Thus miscibility of the blends studied in this communication is suggested to strongly influence by the comonomer contents rather than the density or the MI.

• The Korean Journal of Rheology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.91-96
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• 1999

Semiconductive polyaniline and its derivatives such as poly(aniline-co-sodium diphenylamine sulfonate), poly (aniline-co-o-ethoxyaniline), poly (o-methylaniline), and poly (o-methoxyaniline) were synthesized, and then adopted as suspending particles of the electrorheological (ER) fluids. All suspensions of these polyaniline derivatives showed typical ER properties under high applied electric fields. However, flow behaviors are observed to be quite different depending on the polyaniline derivatives, especially in the stress plateau regions obtained at low shear rates. Using a scaling law, we also obtained universal cures of ER fluids from the flow curves at each applied electric field based on the relationship between the dynamic yield stress with the applied electric field and flow curve changes according to the electric fields.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.47-62
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• 2005

The present study deals with a mathematical model describing the dynamic response of heat and mass transfer in blood flow through bifurcated arteries under stenotic condition. The geometry of the bifurcated arterial segment possessing constrictions in both the parent and the daughter arterial lumen frequently appearing in the diseased arteries causing malfunction of the cardiovascular system, is formulated mathematically with the introduction of the suitable curvatures at the lateral junction and the flow divider. The blood flowing through the artery is treated to be Newtonian. The nonlinear unsteady flow phenomena is governed by the Navier-Stokes equations while those of heat and mass transfer are controlled by the heat conduction and the convection-diffusion equations respectively. All these equations together with the appropriate boundary conditions describing the present biomechanical problem following the radial coordinate transformation are solved numerically by adopting finite difference technique. The respective profiles of the flow field, the temperature and the concentration and their distributions as well are obtained. The influences of the stenosis, the arterial wall motion and the unsteady behaviour of the system in terms of the heat and mass transfer on the blood stream in the entire arterial segment are high­lighted through several plots presented at the end of the paper in order to illustrate the applicability of the present model under study.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.45-50
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• 2008

This paper presents an experimental approach to study the effect of friction on magnerorheological (MR) fluids. Both steady and dynamic modes were employed to investigate MR fluid behaviors. The experimental results indicate that the total MR effects are dominated by two factors: magnetic force and friction force. Conventionally, the magnetic force contribution to MR effect has been intensively studied while the friction force effect has attracted less attention. This study provides a method to quantitatively predict the friction contribution to the total MR effect. It may be used to effectively analyze enhanced MR effects reported by other groups. Also, it might provide good guidance to develop high-efficiency MR fluids.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.67-81
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• 2001

The development of new techniques for the dynamic measurement of linear viscoelastic properties is an active area of rheometry, and this paper surveys some novel deformation geometries which have been recently reported e.g. oscillating probe-type devices which are imbedded in or placed on the surface of the sample. Small amplitude band-limited pseudorandom noise is used for the displacement signal, with Fourier analysis of the complex waveform of the resistance force yielding the frequency dependent viscoelastic material functions (e.g. storage and loss moduli G", G"). Theoretical calculations of the fundamental equations relating force to displacement and instrument geometry, were carried out with the aid of the correspondence principle of linear viscoelasticity. The rapidity of the tests and flexibility in terms of sample preparation and stiffness mean that this basic technique should find many applications in rheometry. Three examples of oscillatory tests are presented in detail squeeze flow, imbedded needle and concentric sliding cylinder geometries.eometries.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 2000

Employing the Phan-Thien tanner (PTT) fluids model, dynamic behavior of the non-isothermal melt spinning has been investigated. Subjects such as draw resonance instability, the effects of spinline cooling and of the fluid viscoelasticity on the spinning dynamics have been studied using the governing equations of the system. In particular, the draw resonance criterion based on the traveling times of various kinematic waves in the spinline has been confirmed, the reason why the spinline cooling is stabilizing is analyzed, and the effect of fluid viscoelasticity on the spinline stability is summarized. It is believed that the same method as in this study can be applied with equal ease to other extension deformation processes like film casting and film blowing.