Stress Inhomogeneity in Powder Specimens Tested in the Jenike Shear Cell: Myth or Fact?

In the mechanical characterization of powders using the direct shear testers such as the Jenike shear cell, the existence of a uniform or well‐defined stress field in a powder specimen is assumed. This assumption has not been subjected to any serious scrutiny in the literature. In this study, the normal stress variation in a silica powder was locally determined by locating a pressure‐sensitive TekScan pad at the bottom section of a Jenike shear cell. A computer simulation of the consolidation and pre‐shearing stages of the Jenike test procedure was performed using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). The paper presents both experimental and computational evidence for the existence of a complex stress field in the powder specimen, thus clearly invalidating the long‐standing stress homogeneity assumption in the direct shear testing of powders. The implications of the stress inhomogeneity in terms of the accuracy of the material properties extracted from the Jenike test are also presented.     

Simultaneous birefringence,small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering to detect precursors and characterize morphology development during flow‐induced crystallization of polymers

An experimental configuration that combines the powerful capabilities of a short‐term shearing apparatus with simultaneous optical and X‐ray scattering techniques is demonstrated, connecting the earliest events that occur during shear‐induced crystallization of a polymer melt with the subsequent kinetics and morphology development. Oriented precursors are at the heart of the great effects that flow can produce on polymer crystallization (strongly enhanced kinetics and formation of highly oriented crystallites), and their creation is highly dependent on material properties and the level of stress applied. The sensitivity of rheo‐optics enables the detection of these dilute shear‐induced precursors as they form during flow, before X‐ray techniques are able to reveal them. Then, as crystallization occurs from these precursors, X‐ray scattering allows detailed quantification of the characteristics and kinetics of growth of the crystallites nucleated by the flow‐induced precursors. This simultaneous combination of techniques allows unambiguous correlation between the early events that occur during shear and the evolution of crystallization after flow has stopped, eliminating uncertainties that result from the extreme sensitivity of flow‐induced crystallization to small changes in the imposed stress and the material. Experimental data on a bimodal blend of isotactic polypropylenes are presented.     

Asymmetry of the wall shear stress in a stimulated ascendant flow of a liquid with monodisperse bubbles

Results of an experimental investigation of the two-phase wall shear stress averaged over the tube perimeter and the pulsation of wall shear stress in a stimulated ascendant flow with monodisperse bubbles with an average diameter of 1.2 and 2.2 mm are presented. Regimes with various hydrodynamic parameters such as high shear stress on the wall, low and negative wall shear stress, a high level of shear stress pulsation on the wall, and possible decrease in this level of pulsation are found. An increase in the void gas fraction results in a monotonic increase of perturbation of the single-phase flow. The dependences of the ratio of two-phase and single-phase wall shear stresses for two average bubble diameters seem to be qualitatively similar. The analysis of data revealed a complex dependence of the shear stress pulsation on the bubble diameter. The averaged flow characteristics quantitatively change upon the decrease in the bubble diameter. A further decrease in the average bubble diameter at the same void gas fraction will probably increase the heat-and mass-transfer characteristics of the flow. This is an issue for the futures study.     

Dense colloidal suspensions under time-dependent shear

We consider the nonlinear rheology of dense colloidal suspensions under a time-dependent simple shear flow. Starting from the Smoluchowski equation for interacting Brownian particles advected by shearing (ignoring fluctuations in fluid velocity), we develop a formalism which enables the calculation of time-dependent, far-from-equilibrium averages. Taking shear stress as an example, we derive exactly a generalized Green-Kubo relation and an equation of motion for the transient density correlator, involving a three-time memory function. Mode coupling approximations give a closed constitutive equation yielding the time-dependent stress for arbitrary shear rate history. We solve this equation numerically for the special case of a hard sphere glass subject to step strain.     

微剪切应力传感器的加工工艺

提出了一种感测单元不直接接触流场的微剪切应力传感器结构,详细阐述了其感测单元MEMS制作工艺。采用热氧化硅掩膜方法解决了硅深刻蚀的选择比问题;优化后的硅深刻蚀工艺参数:刻蚀功率1600 W、低频(LF)功率100 W,SF6流量360 cm3/min,C4F8流量300 cm3/min,O2流量300 cm3/min。采用Cr/Au掩膜,30 ℃恒温低浓度HF溶液解决了玻璃浅槽腐蚀深度控制问题;喷淋腐蚀和基片旋转等措施提高了玻璃浅槽腐蚀表面质量。采用上述MEMS工艺制作了微剪切应力传感器样品,样品测试结果表明:弹性悬梁长度和宽度误差均在2 m以内、玻璃浅槽深度误差在0.03 m以内、静态电容误差在0.2 pF以内,满足了设计要求。     

Identification of a low-frequency elastic behaviour in liquid water

This article deals with the identification of solid-like properties measured at room temperature at a sub-millimetre length scale in liquid water. At a macroscopic scale, normal liquids (i.e.?above melting temperature), and in particular water, are typically and empirically defined by the absence of shear elasticity, in contrast to solids or plastic fluids that require a stress threshold for flowing. A novel method optimizing the transmission of the shear stress to the sample enables a more complete probe of the mechanical response of liquids. It reveals that glass formers and viscous alkanes actually exhibit finite macroscopic shear elasticity away from any phase transition. This protocol is here applied for the first time to liquid water at room temperature, revealing, at the sub-millimetre scale, a low-frequency solid-like property.     

High Pressure High Temperature Dynamic Rheometry of Sulfonated Polyacrylamide Solutions in Electrolyte Media as Used for Oil Recovery Applications

Sulfonated polyacrylamide (SPAA) solutions were prepared and the effects of pressure, polymer concentration, and water temperature, pH and salinity on their rheological behavior were investigated using a concentric cylinder dynamic rheometer equipped with a high pressure cell. According to the rheological flow curves the shear stress of SPAA solutions increased less than in proportion to their shear rates; that is, a shear thinning effect occurred. For polymer solutions containing 15,000 ppm of SPAA, shear viscosity, and stress were nearly insensitive to pressure. However, the shear viscosity and stress of SPAA solutions were affected by temperature and this effect was more evident at lower pressure. The flow curves indicated the shear viscosity and stress of the samples increased with increasing SPAA concentration and pH of the water, but were decreased with increasing water salinity and temperature.     

Experimental Study on Powder Flowability Using Vibration Shear Tube Method

The flowability of powders with different mass median diameters ranging from micrometers to nanometers was measured using the vibration shear tube method. In the measurement system used in this study, the powder was discharged through a narrow gap between a vibrating tube edge and a flat bottom surface, where each particle could experience high shear forces to overcome the adhesion and friction forces. The vibration amplitude was increased during the measurement, and the mass of particles discharged was measured at constant time intervals. From the relationship between the mass flow rate and the vibration acceleration, static and dynamic properties of the powders were evaluated using the critical vibration acceleration, characteristic mass flow rate, and gradient of mass flow rate. The correlation between the static and dynamic properties was studied in detail.     

Rapid measurement of transient velocity evolution using GERVAIS

Rapid velocity measurements using GERVAIS (Gradient Echo Rapid Velocity and Acceleration Imaging Sequence), an EPI (Echo Planar Imaging) based technique capable of measuring velocity over an observation time of several milliseconds, are performed on a wide-gap Couette Rheo-NMR cell for the first time. A variable delay time between a control signal to initiate a transition in flow and the start of the measurement sequence is incorporated to allow investigation of the transient evolution of the velocity field following a step change in rotation rate. Both the commencement and the cessation of imposed shear stress are investigated for (i) a shear banding micellar solution of CPyCl (cetylpyridiniumchloride)/NaSal (sodium salicylate) in brine and (ii) a low molecular weight PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) oil. With respect to the micellar solution, an elastic shear wave is seen to propagate across the cell following the commencement of shear stress whilst an oscillatory ‘recoil’ is observed following the cessation of shear stress; neither of these phenomena were observed for the PDMS oil which exhibited a purely viscous response as expected for an incompressible Newtonian fluid. This technique has potential applications across a wide range of transient rheological investigations, particularly with respect to optically opaque materials.     

Modeling of fluid flow in a biological reactor of rotational type

The technology using for the replacement of damaged tissues the own cells of the patient, which are placed in a three-dimensional frame - scaffold, is promising for solving the problem of the bone tissue regeneration. A new biological reactor of the rotational type, in which the scaffold tissue rotates in a medium for cultivating the cells, was designed for the development of this technique. A numerical algorithm based on the ANSYS program was developed, which enables one to estimate in a new bioreactor the level of the mechanical load on the cells, which affects their pro-perties. The algorithm enables the computation of the values of the shear stress and static pressure acting on the scaf-fold surface. The computations have shown that the necessary shear stress is reached in the proposed rotational biore-actor on the outer side of the inner cylinder (0.002?0.1 Pa) in the range of rotation frequencies 0.083 < f < 0.233 Hz. At the same time, computational results have revealed the presence of an inhomogeneity in the mechanical action distribution along the scaffold tissue, which is due to the appearance of two Taylor vortices with opposite rotation directions in the gap between the cylinders. The experiments on the flow field visualization inside the rotational bio-logical reactor have shown a qualitative agreement of the flow character with computational results. The proposed numerical algorithm may simulate with sufficient accuracy the fluid flow in a real system. The obtained dependencies can be used in practice for creating an optimal microenvironment of the cells cultivated in the biological reactor.     

Shear thickening of cornstarch suspensions as a reentrant jamming transition

We study the rheology of cornstarch suspensions, a non-Brownian particle system that exhibits shear thickening. From magnetic resonance imaging velocimetry and classical rheology it follows that as a function of the applied stress the suspension is first solid (yield stress), then liquid, and then solid again when it shear thickens. For the onset of thickening we find that the smaller the gap of the shear cell, the lower the shear rate at which thickening occurs. Shear thickening can then be interpreted as the consequence of dilatancy: the system under flow wants to dilate but instead undergoes a jamming transition because it is confined, as confirmed by measurement of the dilation of the suspension as a function of the shear rate.     

研究大分子溶液流变性质的核磁共振成象实验装置

在Bruker MSL-400微成象谱仪上建立了一个研究大分子溶液流变性质的核磁共振成象的装置.此方法取决于两个方面:1)具有一个能产生稳态流动的Couete cell装置,2)使用能得到正常核磁共振流速象的脉冲序列.从成象数据很易得到剪切应力与剪切速度的关系.     

Molecular origin of shear thickening in transient polymer networks: A molecular dynamics study

This paper proposes a simple model of transient networks of telechelic associating polymers for molecular simulations and reports the main results obtained by molecular dynamics on the rheological properties of the transient networks. The steady shear viscosity obtained by the non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation exhibits shear thickening at moderate shear rates and shear thinning at larger shear rates. The behavior is similar to that observed in experiments of telechelic associating polymers. By analyzing the distribution function of the end-to-end vector of bridge chains as a function of the shear rate, we find that shear thickening is mainly caused by the stress from the bridge chains highly stretched by shear flow. We also find that fracture of the transient network occurs in the shear-thinning regime at high shear rates.     

Local characteristics of the upward bubbly flow in an annular channel

Results of experimental investigation of the bubbly gas-liquid flow in a vertical annular channel are presented. The average and pulsation shear stresses and distributions of local void fraction were measured by the electrochemical method on both channel walls. It is shown that with a rise of gas flow rate ratio the value of wall shear stress increases significantly, and this effect becomes higher at a decrease in superficial liquid velocity. A presence of the gas phase effects significantly shear stress on the inner wall. Relative intensity of shear stress pulsations increases similarly on both channel walls.     

Effect of elasticity of a polymer solution on the Hele-Shaw flow

In this study, the Hele-Shaw cell is used to examine the effect offluid elasticity on the flow patterns of two-dimensional potential flow. Flows around a circular cylinder, a square cylinder and flows through abruptly converging-diverging channels (slits) with different throat lengths are tested for water and 0.2 wt % polyacrylamide aqueous solution (PAA-solution). The viscosity of the latter is well modeled by the power law, and the first normal stress difference in the steady shear flow is around ten times higher than the shear stress. Although the PAA-solution is highly shear-thinning, the flows of PAA-solution well reproduce the two-dimensional potential flow patterns that correspond to the respective flow configurations when the flow rate is very low. The potential flow patterns ofPAA solution are disturbed in the opposite way of inertia effect observed for water. The streamlines near the upstream stagnation point of cylinders are shifted upstream separating from the cylinder surface when the flow rate is higher, while streamlines in the wake approach closer to the downstream stagnation point. Streamlines offlow through the slit at flow rates higher than the potential flow region show that a pair ofvortices is formed upstream the slit entrance, while the streamlines remain attached to the downstream wall after passing the slit.     

Fringe analysis by phase shifting technique for birefringent fluid studies

We have developed a new optical method to evaluate the tensio-optic behaviour of a fluid in a Couette cell. This method is based on the analysis of the phenomenon of light scattered from a laser beam passing through a sheared fluid. A phase shifting technique was added to increase the measurement accuracy and the range of possible applications. For example, with this modification the problem of low shear stresses can be analysed. This improvement enables measurements to be made even if there is less than one visible fringe. This method also allows the determination of local stresses within the fluid. For a classical Newtonian or shear thinning fluid, a linear correlation between fringe order and shear stresses is observed and the tensio-optic coefficient may then be calculated. A yield stress thixotropic fluid is also analysed to demonstrate the relevance of the developed method. This test shows two distinctive behaviours with two different tensio-optic coefficients relative to a solid state and a liquid state.     

Experimental study of the Taylor bubbles shear stress in an upward flow in a vertical tube

The modification of electrodiffusional method of the wall shear stress measurements is applied for registration of the Taylor bubble shear stress in an upward liquid flow. Time realization of shear is considered as a structure frozen into the flow, which moves together with a bubble. Experiments were carried out in laminar and transitional liquid flows. The wall shear stress in the liquid film around bubble averaged over the tube perimeter is presented for different flow Reynolds numbers and different lengths of the bubble.     

Nonlinear dynamics of an interface between shear bands

We study numerically the nonlinear dynamics of a shear banding interface in two-dimensional planar shear flow, within the nonlocal Johnson-Segalman model. Consistent with a recent linear stability analysis, we find that an initially flat interface is unstable with respect to small undulations for a sufficiently small ratio of the interfacial width l to cell length L(x). The instability saturates in finite amplitude interfacial fluctuations. For decreasing l/L(x) these undergo a nonequilibrium transition from simple traveling interfacial waves with constant average wall stress, to periodically rippling waves with a periodic stress response. When multiple shear bands are present we find erratic interfacial dynamics and a stress response suggesting low dimensional chaos.     

Temporal oscillations of the shear stress and scattered light in a shear-banding-shear-thickening micellar solution

The results of optical and rheological experiments performed on a viscoelastic solution (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide + sodium salicylate in water) are reported. The flow curve has a horizontal plateau extending between two critical shear rates characteristic of heterogeneous flows formed by two layers of fluid with different viscosities. These two bands which also have different optical anisotropy are clearly seen by direct observation in polarized light. At the end of the plateau, apparent shear thickening is observed in a narrow range of shear rates; in phase oscillations of the shear stress and of the first normal stress difference are recorded in a shearing device operating under controlled strain. The direct observation of the annular gap of a Couette cell in a direction perpendicular to a plane containing the vorticity shows that the turbidity of the whole sample also undergoes time dependent variations with the same period as the shear stress. However no banding is observed during the oscillations and the flow remains homogeneous.