The flow behavior of fiber suspensions in Newtonian fluids and polymer solutions.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the viscous and elastic properties and capillary flow of fiber suspensions in Newtonian fluids as well as in polymer solutions. The fillers used were glass, carbon, nylon and vinylon fibers. Glycerin was used as a Newtonian suspending medium and HEC and Separan solutions as viscoelastic suspending media. The viscosity and the first normal-stress difference were measured using a coaxial cylindrical rotating viscometer and a parallel-plate rheogoniometer respectively. The influence of the concentration, aspect ratio, diameter and flexibility of the fibers on the viscous and elastic properties of the fiber suspensions was investigated. Empirical equations were obtained for the relative viscosity and first normal-stress difference for the fiber suspensions in glycerin. The capillary flow of these suspensions is discussed in part II.