The influence of salt concentration on negative thixotropy in solutions of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide

The influence of NaCl concentration on negative thixotropy in aqueous glycerol solutions of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide have been investigated. It was found that negative thixotropy type I (a slow increase in viscosity with time of shearing) sets in at higher critical shear rates when the salt is present. On the other hand, critical shear rates for negative thixotropy type II (a rapid increase in viscosity followed by viscosity oscillation) did not depend on the salt addition. Using the critical shear stress as a hydrodynamic criterion for the occurrence of negative thixotropy, a possible explanation of the behavior is proposed.