The yield stress myth?

New experimental data obtained from constant stress rheometers are used to show that the yield stress concept is an idealization, and that, given accurate measurements, no yield stress exists. The simple Cross model is shown to be a useful empiricism for many non-Newtonian fluids, including those which have hitherto been thought to possess a yield stress.Paper presented at the 9th International Congress on Rheology, Acapulco, Mexico, October 1984.     

Static yield stress of ferrofluid-based magnetorheological fluids

In this work, the yield stress of ferrofluid-based magnetorheological fluids (F-MRF) was investigated. The fluids are composed of a ferrofluid as the liquid carrier and micro-sized iron particles as magnetic particles. The physical and magnetorheological properties of the F-MRF have been investigated and compared with a commercial mineral oil-based MR fluid. With the addition of a ferrofluid, the anti-sedimentation property of the commercial MR fluids could be significantly improved. The static yield stress of the F-MRF samples with four different weight fractions (ϕ) of micro-sized iron particles were measured using three different testing modes under various magnetic fields. The effects of weight fraction, magnetic strength, and test mode on the yielding stress have been systematically studied. Finally, a scaling relation, , was proposed for the yield stress modeling of the F-MRF system.     

Measuring static yield stress of electrorheological fluids using the slotted plate device

An electrorheological (ER) response is defined as the dramatic change in rheological properties of a suspension of small particles due to the application of a large electric field transverse to the direction of flow. ER fluids are typically composed of nonconducting or semiconducting particles dispersed in a nonconducting continuous phase. A sufficiently large electric field will cause ER fluids to solidify, giving rising to a yield stress. Many applications in torque and stress transfer devices were proposed employing the reversible yielding behavior of ER fluids. Successful applications depend on a large yield stress of ER fluids and therefore accurate measurements of the yield stress of ER fluids are required. Reported experimental yield stresses of ER fluids have been dynamic yield stresses obtained by extrapolating the shear stress–shear rate data to zero-shear rate. It would be very helpful to the understanding of ER behaviors and the applications of ER fluids to be able to measure the static yield stress of ER fluids accurately. The slotted plate technique has been shown to be a successful method to determine the static yield stress of suspensions. The values obtained via the slotted plate method are static yield stress as the platform is designed for extremely low-speed motion. In this study, we modified the slotted plate device for the application of large electric fields and measured the static yield stress of TiO₂ ER fluids under various electric fields. The measured static yield stress values are also compared with the static yield stress values from a commercial rheometer.     

Flow of a yield stress fluid over a rotating surface

We study the flow of yield stress fluids over a rotating surface when both the viscoelastic solid behavior below a critical deformation (γ _c) and liquid properties beyond γ _c can play a significant role. We review the detailed characteristics of the flow in the solid regime in the specific case of a pure elongational strain (large height to radius ratio). We, in particular, show that there exists a critical rotation velocity (ω _c) associated with the transition from the solid to the liquid regime. We then consider the specific case of lubricational regime (small height to radius ratio) in the liquid regime. In that case we describe the different possible evolutions of the equilibrium shape of the material as a function of the rotation velocity (ω), from which we extrapolate the transient shape evolutions as ω increases. We show that for a sufficiently large rotation velocity the sample separates into two parts, one remaining at rest around the rotation axis, the other going on moving radially. These predictions are then compared with systematic spin-coating tests under increasing rotation velocity ramps followed by a plateau at ω _f with typical yield stress fluids. It appears that there exists a critical velocity below which the material undergoes a limited elongation and beyond which it starts to spread significantly over the solid surface. For a larger ω _f value the sample forms a thick peripheral roll, leaving behind it a thin layer of fluid at rest relatively to the disc. These characteristics are in qualitative agreement with the theoretical predictions. Beyond a sufficiently large ω _f value this roll eventually spreads radially in the form of thin fingers. Moreover, in agreement with the theory in the lubricational regime, the different curves of deformation vs ω fall along a master curve when the rotation velocity is scaled by ω _c for different accelerations, different sample radii, or different material yield stress. The final thickness of the deposit seems to be mainly governed by the displacement of the roll, the characteristics of which take their origin in the initial stage of the spreading, including the solid–liquid transition.     

Processing the capillary viscometry data of fluids with yield stress

The capillary viscometer is used to measure the shear stress-shear rate relationship of a wide range of purely viscous fluids. It is however not considered as an appropriate instrument for obtaining the yield stress and the post-yield behaviour of fluids that have a yield stress. This is partly because conventional methods of processing the capillary viscometry data of purely viscous fluids cannot be applied to similar data of fluids with yield stress. The unavoidable experimental noise in the capillary data, particularly at low shear rates, also makes it difficult to obtain a reliable estimate of the yield stress from capillary data. In this investigation the problem of converting the capillary viscometry data of yield stress fluids into a shear stress-shear rate curve and a yield stress is formulated as a Volterra integral equation of the first kind. This is an ill-posed problem i.e. noise in the data will be amplified by inappropriate methods of data processing. A method, based on Tikhonov regularisation that takes into account the ill-posed nature of the problem, is then developed to solve this problem for fluids with yield stress. The performance of this method is assessed by applying it to a set of “synthetic” capillary viscometry data with added random noise and to a set of experimental data for a concentrated suspension of TiO₂ taken from the literature. In both cases Tikhonov regularisation was able to extract the complete shear properties of these fluids from capillary viscometry data alone. Received: 22 November 1999/Accepted: 17 December 1999     

Comparative yield stress determination for pure and interstratified smectite clays

Different experimental devices and operative procedures were used to obtain the main properties of suspensions of two purified clays, a pure smectite and an interstratified illite-smectite natural clay, at different concentrations. The yield stress values derived from flow and creep tests were found to be very consistent, while those derived from dynamic tests were observed to be much more sensitive to experimental conditions. Qualitatively, the two clays exhibit the same rheological behaviour, which can be modelled using the Herschel-Bulkley model; their yield stress increases with clay concentration and they present a thixotropic character for low concentrations, with an inversion of the curves when the clay concentration increases. However, significant differences were observed when considering numerical values. For the same clay concentration in the suspension, the yield stress of the pure smectite is distinctly higher than that of the interstratified one. The rheological properties of the pure smectite clay can be related to the swelling properties and the organisation of the minerals in water, leading to three-dimensional strong but deformable structures. On the other hand, the presence of a small percentage of illite in the natural clay gives it a brittle behaviour which collapses more easily under stress.     

Yield stress measurements and microstructure of colloidal kaolin powders clusterized and dispersed in different liquids

Rheologicat measurements of four colloidal kaolin powders dispersed in water, paraffinic oil and liquid rubber have been done at solid concentration （9 （VS/VL） in the range 8-33%. In quasi-static conditions the yield stress τ° values were derived. An S-shaped relationship between τ° and （9 exists, that allows to evaluate the percolation threshold θc values. In water θc ranges between 29% and 33%, while it is between 17% and 21% in oil and in liquid rubber. In water the microstructure units, i.e. the primary clusters among kaolin crystallites, are denser and bigger than the ones in the two other liquids. Furthermore, in quasistatic condition, the aqueous microstructure units have less tendency to cling together to form a network that can span all over the liquid phase. The different kaolin dispersions at θ equal to 22% are characterized by yield stress ranging between 7.S Pa and 59 Pa in water, 66-250 Pa in oil and 230-770 Pa in liquid rubber. It has been found that for any kaolin types the log τ°/ θ evaluated near to the percolation threshold is a conservative parameter of the three different liquids. These results are useful to design colloidal dispersions with selected microstructure.     

Determination of yield stress fluid behaviour from inclined plane test

The aim of this paper is to determine precisely under which conditions an inclined plane can be used as a rheometer, which could represent a practical and rapid technique for various types of industrial or natural viscoplastic coarse suspensions. We first examine its efficiency and relevancy for determining fluid yield stress in a straight way by measuring the deepest fluid layer able to stay on the inclined plane. We have made experiments with different materials (clay-water suspensions) whose yield stress ranged from 35 to 90 Pa, using 1 m long open rectangular channels with a slope ranging from 10 to 30° and a width ranging from 5 to 25 cm. Our procedure involved measuring the final fluid depth far from edges a long time after the end of the slow gravity-induced emptying of a dam placed upstream. The fluid yield stress was also estimated independently by fitting a Herschel-Bulkley model to simple shear rheometry data obtained within a relatively wide shear rate range. A good agreement between inclined rectangular channel tests and independent usual rheometrical tests is obtained even for aspect ratios (flow depth to channel width ratio) as large as 1 when one assumes that, when the fluid has stopped, the side and bottom wall shear stresses are equal to the fluid yield stress. These results prove the efficiency of the inclined plane test for determining yield stress when appropriate experimental precautions are taken for both tests. In addition we examine the possibility of determining the simple shear flow curve of a mud suspension from fluid depth, velocity and discharge measurements of different steady flows in a wide open channel (8 m long; 60 cm wide) equipped with a recirculating system. The results obtained from inclined plane tests are in good agreement with independent rheometrical data (with torsional geometries). However it is technically difficult to cover a wide shear rate range from the inclined plane technique since this requires a rather wide channel flow rate range.     

An investigation of squeeze flow as a viable technique for determining the yield stress

A systematic study of squeeze flow (SF) was performed on different concentrations of Carbopol with varying yield stresses. A sample of constant volume was placed between two parallel plates and a series of constant force steps applied, following the plate separation as a function of time. Precise rheological measurements of the model yield stress fluids were performed in addition to the well-controlled SF tests. These rheological measurements were used in conjunction with the SF equations to determine the time-dependent plate separation, allowing a direct comparison of theory and experiment throughout the entire test. The limiting height achieved during constant force SF reveals information about the yield stress of the fluid as predicted by the theory. It appears that by carefully controlling the experimental conditions of the squeeze test one can obtain yield stress values that agree with the rheological measurements within 10%. Additionally, the validity of the lubricational theory was tested; not only for the determination of the yield stress but throughout the flow as well.     

A greedy algorithm for yield surface approximation

This Note presents an approximation method for convex yield surfaces in the framework of yield design theory. The proposed algorithm constructs an approximation using a convex hull of ellipsoids such that the approximate criterion can be formulated in terms of second-order conic constraints. The algorithm can treat bounded as well as unbounded yield surfaces. Its efficiency is illustrated on two yield surfaces obtained using up-scaling procedures.     

Stability of a Rayleigh-Bénard Poiseuille flow for yield stress fluids—Comparison between Bingham and regularized models

A linear stability analysis of a Rayleigh-Bénard Poiseuille flow is performed for yield stress fluids whether we use the Bingham or regularized models. A fundamental difference between those models is that the effective viscosity is not defined in the plug zone for the Bingham model, while it is defined in the whole domain for the regularized models. For these models, the viscosity depends highly on a parameter ? near the axis and increases drastically in an intermediate region. The convergence of the critical conditions between the simple and the Bingham models is not obtained. However, we show that the Bercovier and Papanastasiou models can tend to the exact Bingham results.     

Relations between stress growth and stress relaxation functions

The stress relaxation function after steady shear flow and the stress growth function at inception of steady flow are derived for several constitutive equations of the integral and differential types. Relationships between these functions are deduced and discussed.     

A computational homogenization approach for the yield design of periodic thin plates. Part II : Upper bound yield design calculation of the homogenized structure

In the first part of this work (Bleyer and de Buhan, 2014), the determination of the macroscopic strength criterion of periodic thin plates has been addressed by means of the yield design homogenization theory and its associated numerical procedures. The present paper aims at using such numerically computed homogenized strength criteria in order to evaluate limit load estimates of global plate structures. The yield line method being a common kinematic approach for the yield design of plates, which enables to obtain upper bound estimates quite efficiently, it is first shown that its extension to the case of complex strength criteria as those calculated from the homogenization method, necessitates the computation of a function depending on one single parameter. A simple analytical example on a reinforced rectangular plate illustrates the simplicity of the method. The case of numerical yield line method being also rapidly mentioned, a more refined finite element-based upper bound approach is also proposed, taking dissipation through curvature as well as angular jumps into account. In this case, an approximation procedure is proposed to treat the curvature term, based upon an algorithm approximating the original macroscopic strength criterion by a convex hull of ellipsoids. Numerical examples are presented to assess the efficiency of the different methods.     

微型触探仪的研制及粉质粘土中的静力触探试验研究

研制了一种新型的微型触探仪,该仪器能对贯入阻力与贯入深度数据进行自动采集。同时为了进行微型静力触探试验研究,研制了一套新颖的土样制作装置。通过用微型触探仪对粉质粘土进行静力触探试验发现,触探曲线与锥头锥角没有必然的联系,而且其初始段为直线段。对粉质粘土,当锥头贯入到一定深度时,锥头阻力将趋于稳定,这是由不同围压下土体的不同破坏机理引起的。通过对触探曲线上的特征值与土力学参数之间的关系进行分析发现,无量纲锥头阻力系数和tanφ(φ为土的内摩擦角)成近似的线性关系。另外,还得到了锥头极限阻力与临界深度之间的经验关系。     

Field-induced gelation, yield stress, and fragility of an electro-rheological suspension

 Electro-rheological suspensions (ERS) are known to undergo liquid-to-solid transition under the application of an electric field. Long-range interaction between neighboring particles results in sample-spanning particulate structures which behave as soft solids. Here, we studied the rheological expression of this field-induced transition which has many similarities with chemical gelation. This similarity shows in mechanical spectroscopy on a suspension of monodisperse silica in PDMS as model ERS. Upon application of the electric field, dynamic moduli G′, G′′ grow by orders of magnitude and evolve in a pattern which is otherwise typical for gelation of network polymers (random chemical or physical gelation). At the gel point, the slow dynamics is governed by power-law relaxation behavior (frequency-independent tan δ). A low field strength is sufficient to reach the gel point and, correspondingly, the percolating particle structure at the gel point is still very fragile. It can be broken by the imposition of low stress. For inducing a finite yield stress, the field strength needs to be increased further until the long-range electrostatic interaction generates string-like particle alignments which become clearly visible under the optical microscope. The onset of fragile connectivity was defined experimentally by the tan δ method. The ERS was probed dynamically at low frequencies where the transition is most pronounced, and also in steady shear where the rate of structure formation equals the rate of internal breaking. Received: 1 May 2001 Accepted: 11 August 2001     

Stress measurement of SS400 steel beam using the continuous indentation technique

An analytical model is presented for determining surface residual stress using continuous indentation. The elastic residual stress is assumed to have no influence on contact area or hardness and to be uniform over a volume that is several times larger than the indentation mark. A step-by-step analysis for the residual-stress-induced load difference at a given depth is outlined here and such concepts as stress interaction, stress-sensitive contact morphology, and reversible contact recoveries during a stress relaxation are described. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the interpretation of the continuous indentation results obtained from an SS400 steel beam in which controlled bending stresses are generated. The stress estimated, however, showed a high scatter due to plastic pile-up deformation. When the optically measured contact area is used as an alternative of the contact area calculated from the unloading curve, the re-evaluated stress agrees well with the already known applied stress.     

Gas displacement of viscoplastic liquids in capillary tubes

The displacement of viscoplastic liquids in capillary tubes by gas injection is examined. The viscoplasticity alters the flow kinematics and changes dramatically the amount of mass left attached at the tube wall as compared to the Newtonian case, studied experimentally by G.I. Taylor in 1961 [G.I. Taylor, Deposition of a viscous fluid on the wall of a tube, J. Fluid Mech. 10 (1961) 161–165]. Experiments with Carbopol aqueous solutions were performed for different flow rates. A recently proposed viscosity function for viscoplastic liquids was fitted to the rheological data of the Carbopol solutions. A new dimensionless rheological property – the jump number – arises in the dimensionless version of this viscosity function. The results show the effect of the viscoplastic character of the liquid on the free surface shape and on the thickness of the film of liquid left attached to the wall. This thickness decreases with the jump number and increases with the flow rate. It is also observed that there is a critical dimensionless flow rate below which the displacement is apparently perfect, i.e. there is no observable liquid left attached to the wall. This behavior is shown to be directly related to the fully developed flow far ahead the air–liquid interface.