No Cover Image

Journal article 547 views 159 downloads

Simultaneous measurement of rheological properties in a microfluidic rheometer

Francesco Del Giudice Orcid Logo

Physics of Fluids, Volume: 32, Issue: 5

Swansea University Author: Francesco Del Giudice Orcid Logo

  • 53946.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    Released under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY).

    Download (3.4MB)

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.1063/5.0006060

Abstract

Microfluidic rheometry is considered to be a potential alternative to conventional rheometry for the rheological characterization of viscoelastic solutions having relatively low viscoelastic properties. None of the microfluidic platforms introduced so far, however, can be used for the measurements o...

Full description

Published in: Physics of Fluids
ISSN: 1070-6631 1089-7666
Published: AIP Publishing 2020
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa53946
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Abstract: Microfluidic rheometry is considered to be a potential alternative to conventional rheometry for the rheological characterization of viscoelastic solutions having relatively low viscoelastic properties. None of the microfluidic platforms introduced so far, however, can be used for the measurements of multiple rheological properties in the same device. In this work, I present the first microfluidic platform, named the “μ-rheometer,” which allows for the simultaneous measurement of zero-shear viscosity η0 and longest shear relaxation time λ. This is achieved by transforming the original “flow rate controlled” platform presented by Del Giudice et al., “Rheometry-on-a-chip: Measuring the relaxation time of a viscoelastic liquid through particle migration in microchannel flows,” Lab Chip 15, 783–792 (2015) into a “pressure drop controlled” microfluidic device, by replacing a syringe pump with a pressure pump. The novel device has been tested by measuring both η0 and λ for a number of polyethylene oxide solutions in glycerol–water 25 wt. % and pure water, respectively. Its effectiveness has been corroborated by means of a direct comparison with a conventional rotational rheometer.
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: UKRI, EP/S036490/1
Issue: 5