Processing the Couette viscometry data using a Bingham approximation in shear rate calculation

This paper presents an approach to computing the shear flow curve from torque–rotational velocity data in a Couette rheometer. The approximation techniques in shear rate calculation are generally dictated by the radius ratio between coaxial cylinders and the rheological behaviour of fluid tested. Here, the approach consists in analysing the sheared material as a Bingham fluid and computing an average shear rate when the fluid in the cylindrical gap is partially and fully sheared. We focus in particular on the applicability of the Bingham approximation in shear rate calculation. First, the approach is assessed by examining synthetic data generated with Newtonian, non-Newtonian and yield stress materials with known properties, varying the gap radius ratio. The results, which are compared with commonly used techniques in shear rate calculation, prove the relevance of the proposed approach. Finally, its efficiency is examined by applying it to process Couette data of yield stress fluids taken from published works.