Comparison of optical and mechanical measurements of second normal stress difference relaxation following step strain

Relaxation of the second normal stress difference (N ₂) following step strain of a concentrated monodisperse polystyrene solution has been studied using mechanical and optical rheometry. Measurements of normal thrust in a parallel plate geometry are corrected for strain inhomogeneity and combined with independent measurements of the first normal stress difference (N ₁) to determine N ₂. Optical experiments were performed using a novel configuration where flow birefringence data collected using multiple light paths within the shear plane are combined with the stress-optical law to determine all three independent stress components for shearing deformations. This technique eliminates end effects, and provides an opportunity to oversample the stress tensor and develop consistency checks of experimental data. N ₂ is found to be nonzero at all accessible times, and relaxes in roughly constant proportion to N ₁. This reflects nonaffine distribution of chain segments, even well within the regime of chain retraction at short times. Data collected with the two techniques are reasonably consistent with each other, and with results of previous studies, generally lying between the predictions of the Doi-Edwards model with and without the independent alignment approximation. The normal stress ratio –N ₂/N ₁ shows pronounced strain thinning in the nonlinear regime.     

A shear rheometer for measuring shear stress and both normal stress differences in polymer melts simultaneously: the MTR 25

The MTR 25 is a multitask rheometer (for shear and squeeze flow) with 25 kg of normal force and a partitioned plate. Torque and normal force are measured at both, the inner disk and the outer ring of the plate. The first and second normal stress differences can be determined from a single test. The axial stiffness is high (10⁷ N/m) by using rigid springs and strain gauges for the load cell. Monodisperse polystyrene (M _w = 206 kg/mol, 180°C) has been sheared in the range from 0.05 to 47 s^− 1. The viscosity and first normal stress difference are highly reproducible. The second normal stress difference scatters and mirrors the instability at the rim. A critical comparison is made between the MTR 25 method and the single transducer evaluation method (RMS 800 method, Schweizer, Rheol Acta 41:337–344, 2002): Both yield excellent and coinciding viscosity and first normal stress difference data. The RMS 800 method gives more stable second normal stress difference data, since the normal force from the outer ring, which is influenced by edge fracture, is not used. Data for the RMS 800 method can be acquired on the MTR 25. The high normal force capacity permits larger samples and higher shear rates than on the RMS 800.

Stress optical measurement of the third normal stress difference in polymer melts under oscillatory shear

Results are reported for the dynamic moduli,G andG, measured mechanically, and the dynamic third normal stress difference, measured optically, of a series bidisperse linear polymer melts under oscillatory shear. Nearly monodisperse hydrogenated polyisoprenes of molecular weights 53000 and 370000 were used to prepare blends with a volume fraction of long polymer, _L, of 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.50, and 0.75. The results demonstrate the applicability of birefringence measurements to solve the longstanding problem of measuring the third normal stress difference in oscillatory flow. The relationship between the third normal stress difference and the shear stress observed for these entangled polymer melts is in agreement with a widely predicted constitutive relationship: the relationship between the first normal stress difference and the shear stress is that of a simple fluid, and the second normal stress difference is proportional to the first. These results demonstrate the potential use of 1,3-birefringence to measure the third normal stress difference in oscillatory flow. Further, the general constitutive equation supported by the present results may be used to determine the dynamic moduli from the measured third normal stress difference in small amplitude oscillatory shear. Directions for future research, including the use of birefringence measurements to determineN ₂/N ₁ in oscillatory shear, are described.     

On the measurement of normal stress differences in steady shear flow

Summary Compared to the similar pressure-distribution cone-and-plate apparatus of Adams and Lodge (4), the new apparatus' improvements include: temperature control of the cone (as well as the plate); increased stiffening of the frame; four (not three) pressuremeasuring holes in the cone/plate region; inclusion of a pressure-measuring hole on the axis under the cone truncation; exclusive use of a vertical free liquid boundary at the cone rim (without a sea of liquid). Temperature control of the rotating cone and of the fixed plate leads to acceptable temperature uniformity in the test liquid for working temperatures within 10°C or 20°C of ambient; the corresponding interval is about 1°C if the cone temperature control is abandoned. Pressure gradients measured using a Newtonian liquid agree with those calculated using Walters' eq. (3). For a viscoelastic liquid, after subtracting inertial contributions, pressure distributions measured at a given shear rate in the cone/plate region do not change when the gap angle is changed from 2° to 3°, showing that the effects of secondary flow are negligible. Values ofN ₃ =N ₁ + 2N ₂ obtained from the gradients of these distributions are believed to be in error by not more than ±1 Pa, in favorable cases. The present most useful ranges are: 10 to 5000 Pa forN ₃; 0.1 to 200 sec^–1 for shear rate; up to 5 Pa s for viscosity; and 5 to 40°C for temperature. As an application, it is shown that adding 0.1% of a high molecular weight polyisobutylene to a 2% polyisobutylene solution doublesN ₃ and has no detectable effect on the viscosity measured at low shear rates with a Ferranti-Shirley viscometer.

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Zusammenfassung Im Vergleich zu dem ähnlichen Kegel-Platte-Gerät von Adams und Lodge (4) zur Messung der Druckverteilung wurden an dem neuen Gerät die folgenden Verbesserungen vorgenommen: Temperaturregelung an Kegel und Platte, Versteifung des Rahmens, vier (anstatt drei) Druckmeßlöcher im Kegel-Platte-Bereich, ein zusätzliches Druckmeßloch auf der Achse unter der Kegelstumpf-Deckfläche, ausschließliche Verwendung einer vertikalen freien Grenzfläche der Flüssigkeit am Kegelrand (ohne umgebenden Flüssigkeitssee). Die Temperaturregelung des rotierenden Kegels und der festen Platte führt zu einer ausreichenden Temperaturgleichförmigkeit in der Testflüssigkeit für Betriebstemperaturen, die höchstens um 10–20°C von der Umgebungstemperatur abweichen. Dieses Intervall beträgt dagegen nur etwa 1°C, wenn auf die Temperaturregelung am Kegel verzichtet wird. Für newtonsche Flüssigkeiten entsprechen die gemessenen Druckgradienten den mittels der Gleichung von Walters (3) berechneten. Für viskoelastische Flüssigkeiten zeigen sich bei der Änderung des Spaltwinkels von 2° auf 3° nach Abzug der Trägheitsbeiträge keine Änderungen der bei einer bestimmten Schergeschwindigkeit gemessenen Druckverteilung. Dies zeigt, daß Sekundärströmungseffekte vernachlässigbar sind. Es darf angenommen werden, daß die Werte vonN ₃ =N ₁ + 2N ₂, die man aus den Gradienten dieser Verteilungen erhält, unter günstigen Umständen mit einem Fehler von nicht mehr als ±1 Pa behaftet sind. Gegenwärtig liegen die günstigsten Bereiche bei 10 bis 5000 Pa fürN ₃, 0,1 bis 200 s^–1 für die Schergeschwindigkeit, unterhalb von 5 Pa s für die Viskosität und 5 bis 40°C für die Temperatur. Als Anwendung wird gezeigt, daß ein Zusatz von 0,1% hochmolekularen Polyisobutylens zu einer 2%igen Polyisobutylenlösung den Wert vonN ₃ verdoppelt, aber keinen erkennbaren Einfluß auf die (bei geringen Schergeschwindigkeiten mit einem Ferranti-Shirley-Viskosimeter gemessen) Viskosität hat.

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udsf unidirectional shear flow - TCP truncated-cone and plate - N ₁,N ₂ 1st and 2nd normal stress differences in udsf - N ₃ N ₁ + 2N ₂ - : = A is defined by the equationA := B - P ^* hole pressurePw – Pm; Pw, Pm = pressures measured by flush transducer and by hole-mounted transducer - t time - , strain rate, shear rate - (P,t) covariant body metric tensor at particleP and timet - ⁱ , _i covariant and contravariant udsf body base vectors (i = 1, 2, 3) - ^–1 inverse of - R, plate radius, cone/plate gap angle - r ₀,h ₀ radius and height of cone truncation - r,, spherical polar coordinates; cone axis = 0; plate surface = /2 - physical components of stress; for a tensile component - cone angular velocity - p on the plate = /2 - ,T, density, absolute temperature, viscosity - P 0.15 ²(r ² –R ²) (inertial contribution) [2.7] - P _ve contribution [2.8] from flow perturbations of viscoelastic origin - r _i i = 1,2,3,4; values ofr at centers of holes in cone/plate region - P _i () pressure change recorded by transducerTi when cone angular velocity goes from zero to - 1/2 {P _i ()+ P _i (–)} (average for 2 senses of rotation) - rim pressure, from least-squares line through four points - Re Reynolds' number:R ²/ - (P,t)/t With 11 figures and 2 tables     

Time dependent flow in equimolar micellar solutions: transient behaviour of the shear stress and first normal stress difference in shear induced structures coupled with flow instabilities

Recently we studied time dependent structural changes that are coupled with flow instabilities (Fischer 1998; Wheeler 1998; Fischer 2000). Within a stability analysis, a classification scheme for the feedback circuit of coupled shear-induced structure and flow instabilities was derived by Schmitt et al. (1995) and applied to our samples. Here, inhomogeneous flow layers of different concentration and viscosity are generated by shear-induced diffusion (spinodal demixing) and, as consequence, one no longer observes a homogeneous solution but a type of shear banding that is seen here for the first time. In this paper we present the behaviour of the first normal stress difference observed in the critical shear-rate regime where transient shear-induced structure is coupled with flow instability. Similar to the oscillations of the shear stresses (strain-controlled rheometer) one observes oscillations in the first normal stress difference. This behaviour indicates that elastic structures are built up and destroyed while the shear-induced structures occur and that the induced phase is more elastic than the initial one. Oscillations of shear stress and first normal stress difference are in phase and indicate that both phenomena are caused by the same mechanism. Received: 30 June 1999/Accepted: 14 December 1999     

Rheo-optical measurements of the first and third normal stresses of homopolymer poly(vinyl methyl ether) melt

Normal stresses play a key role in polymer processing, yet accurate measurements are still challenging. Simultaneous rheo-optical measurements are conducted on a poly(vinyl methyl ether) homopolymer melt over a wide range of temperatures and oscillatory shear frequencies, in an effort to measure the normal stresses, by using quantitative flow birefringence measurements. The stress optical rule holds well for this polymer as expected, with the value of the stress optic coefficient of (6.38±0.19)×10⁻¹¹ cm²/dyn at 30°C. The first and third normal stress difference coefficients, calculated using a single memory constitutive equation applied to the stress and birefringence data, are in excellent agreement. The ratio of the measured third and first normal stress difference coefficients, (1−β)=0.71±0.05, agrees well with the result of the Doi–Edwards model with independent alignment approximation (β=0.28). The measurement of normal stress difference coefficients with such small deviations proves the robust nature of the improved rheo-optical instrument and its ability to measure complete stress tensor.     

Estimating gas holdup via pressure difference measurements in a cocurrent bubble column

Estimating gas holdup via pressure difference measurements is a simple and low-cost non-invasive technique to study gas holdup in bubble columns. It is usually used in a manner where the wall shear stress effect is neglected, termed Method II in this paper. In cocurrent bubble columns, when the liquid velocity is high or the fluid is highly viscous, wall shear stress may be significant and Method II may result in substantial error. Directly including the wall shear stress term in the determination of gas holdup (Method I) requires knowledge of two-phase wall shear stress models and usually requires the solution of non-linear equations. A new gas holdup estimation method (Method III) via differential pressure measurements for cocurrent bubble columns is proposed in this paper. This method considers the wall shear stress influences on gas holdup values without calculating the wall shear stress. A detailed analysis shows that Method III always results in a smaller gas holdup error than Method II, and in many cases, the error is significantly smaller than that of Method II. The applicability of Method III in measuring gas holdup in a cocurrent air–water–fiber bubble column is examined. Analysis based on experimental data shows that with Method III, accurate gas holdup measurements can be obtained, while measurement error is significant when Method II is used for some operational conditions.     

Pulsatile blood flow in large arteries: comparative study of Burton’s and McDonald’s models

To get a clear picture of the pulsatile nature of blood flow and its role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, a comparative study of blood flow in large arteries is carried out using the two widely used models, McDonald＇s and Burton＇s models, for the pressure gradient. For both models, the blood velocity in the lumen is obtained analytically. Elaborate investigations on the wall shear stress （WSS） and oscillatory shear index （OSI） are carried out. The results are in good agreement with the available data in the literature. The superiority of McDonald＇s model in capturing the pulsatile nature of blood flow, especially the OSI, is highlighted. The present investigation supports the hypothesis that not only WSS but also OSI are the essential features determining the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Finally, by reviewing the limitations of the present investigation, the possibility of improvement is explored.