An automated dynamic viscometer with air bearing and inductive transducers for angular displacement detection

A dynamic viscometer is described, with which the dynamic moduli in the frequency range from 2 × 10^–3 to 10 Hz can be determined for liquids with 10^–3 Pa< |G ^* | <10² Pa. Due to the application of an air bearing and inductive transducers for the detection of the angular displacement of both the drive and the measuring cylinder a sensitive apparatus has been made. Very small strains (₀ 10^–3) can be applied and only a small amount of sample (4 ml) is needed. The operation of the apparatus is fully computer-controlled, thus, long runs at various frequencies and temperatures are possible without operator intervention. The theoretical background, calibration procedure, and operation window are described. A presentation of some measurements on two polyisoprene/polystyrene triblock copolymer solutions concludes the work.