Benjamín M. Marín-Santibáñez

Shear viscosity and wall slip behavior of a viscoplastic hydrogel

The coupled apparent slip and viscoplastic behavior of a hydrogel consisting of 0.2 wt. % aqueous solution of poly(acrylic acid) was analyzed employing steady torsional and circular tube (capillary) flows. Transparent disks and capillaries fabricated out of borosilicate glass were used to allow velocity measurements. The steady torsional flow of the hydrogel was dominated by wall slip which gave rise to plug flow over the apparent shear rate range of 0.1 to 1 s−1, in agreement with the plug flow observed in the capillary under similar shear stresses. The transition from plug flow provided the yield stress of the hydrogel, which was found to be consistent with velocity data collected over the 0.1–200 s−1 apparent shear rate range of steady torsional and capillary flows. The availability of both pressure drop versus flow rate and wall slip velocity data enabled the validation of correction procedures proposed earlier for the determination of the slip-corrected wall shear rate [Yilmazer and Kalyon, “Dilatanc...

Rheo-PIV of a yield-stress fluid in a capillary with slip at the wall

An analysis of the yielding and flow behavior of a model yield-stress fluid, 0.2 wt% Carbopol gel, in a capillary with slip at the wall has been carried out in the present work. For this, a study of the flow kinematics in a capillary rheometer was performed with a two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. Besides, a stress-controlled rotational rheometer with a vane rotor was used as an independent way to measure the yield stress. The results in this work show that in the limit of resolution of the PIV technique, the flow behavior agrees with the existence of a yield stress, but there is a smooth solid–liquid transition in the capillary flow curve, which complicates the determination of the yield stress from rheometrical data. This complication, however, is overcome by using the solely velocity profiles and the measured wall shear stresses, from which the yield-stress value is reliably determined. The main details of the kinematics in the presence of slip were all captured during the experiments, namely, a purely plug flow before yielding, the solid–liquid transition, as well as the behavior under flow, respectively. Finally, it was found that the slip velocity increases in a power-law way with the shear stress.

Axial annular flow of a viscoplastic microgel with wall slip

The fully developed velocity distributions of a viscoplastic Carbopol microgel [0.12 wt. % poly(acrylic acid) in water] flowing axially in the annular gap between two long concentric cylinders were determined. The ratios of the length over the gap and the inner over the outer radii, κ, of the annulus were 442 and 0.78, respectively. The particle image velocimetry, PIV, measurements revealed that the viscoplasticity of the microgel in axial annular flow is manifested via the formation of plug flow and wall slip. The plug flow region spanned the entire or part of the annular gap depending on whether the absolute values of the shear stresses at the two walls were below or above the yield stress of the microgel, respectively. For all flow rates, the velocities at the two walls were similar indicating that the absolute values of the wall shear stress were also similar. Equality of the shear stresses at the two walls suggested that axial annular flow at a relatively high κ can be used as a viscometric flow for ...

Origin of shear thickening in semidilute wormlike micellar solutions and evidence of elastic turbulencea)

The origin of shear thickening in an equimolar semidilute wormlike micellar solution of cetylpyridinium chloride and sodium salicylate was investigated in this work by using Couette rheometry, flow visualization, and capillary Rheo-particle image velocimetry. The use of the combined methods allowed the discovery of gradient shear banding flow occurring from a critical shear stress and consisting of two main bands, one isotropic (transparent) of high viscosity and one structured (turbid) of low viscosity. Mechanical rheometry indicated macroscopic shear thinning behavior in the shear banding regime. However, local velocimetry showed that the turbid band increased its viscosity along with the shear stress, even though barely reached the value of the viscosity of the isotropic phase. This shear band is the precursor of shear induced structures that subsequently give rise to the average increase in viscosity or apparent shear thickening of the solution. Further increase in the shear stress promoted the growing of the turbid band across the flow region and led to destabilization of the shear banding flow independently of the type of rheometer used, as well as to vorticity banding in Couette flow. At last, vorticity banding disappeared and the flow developed elastic turbulence with chaotic dynamics.

Rheo-Particle Image Velocimetry for the Analysis of the Flow of Polymer Melts

Jose Perez-Gonzalez1, Benjamin M. Marin-Santibanez2, Francisco RodriguezGonzalez3 and Jose G. Gonzalez-Santos4 1Laboratorio de Reologia, Escuela Superior de Fisica y Matematicas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, 2Seccion de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigacion, Escuela Superior de Ingenieria Quimica e Industrias Extractivas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, 3Departamento de Biotecnologia, Centro de Desarrollo de Productos Bioticos, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, 4Departamento de Matematicas, Escuela Superior de Fisica y Matematicas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico

Tangential annular (Couette) flow of a viscoplastic microgel with wall slip

The tangential annular or Couette flow of a viscoplastic microgel, i.e., 0.12 wt. % aqueous solution of poly(acrylic acid), Carbopol® 940, under isothermal and creeping flow conditions was investigated by simultaneous particle image velocimetry and rheometrical measurements (Rheo-PIV). A wide range of ratios of the inner over the outer radii of the annuli, i.e., κ = 0.329, 0.749, and 0.933, were used. The PIV measurements revealed the viscoplasticity of the microgel in Couette flow via the formation of plug flow (rigid body motion) and slip at the two walls. A procedure that relied on the characterization of the wall slip behavior was developed for the determination of the yield stress of the microgel, in turn leading to other parameters of the shear viscosity of the viscoplastic fluid. The wall slip velocity versus wall shear stress behavior of the microgel was overall consistent with the mechanism of apparent slip for all three gaps. However, the apparent slip layer thicknesses were dependent on the wal...

Slip and frictional heating of extruded polyethylene melts

Extrusion of polymer melts with slip at the die generates frictional heating. The relationship between slip flow and frictional heating during the continuous extrusion of a non-slipping linear low-density (LLDPE) and a slipping high-density polyethylene (HDPE), respectively, both pure as well as blended with a fluoropolymer processing aid (PA), was investigated in this work by Rheo-particle image velocimetry and thermal imaging. Significant rises in temperature were measured under slip and no slip conditions, being these much higher than the values predicted by the adiabatic flow assumption. Clear difference was made between viscous and frictional heating before the stick-slip regime for the LLDPE, even though they could not be distinguished from one another at higher stresses. Such a difference, however, could not be made for the slipping HDPE, since overall in the presence of slip, frictional and viscous heating act synergistically to increase the melt temperature.

Iron nanoparticles on colloidal substrates

Iron nanoparticles are of interest for possible applications such as remediation of soil and water, and for their magnetic properties. In the present work, a simple method for producing iron nanoparticles on a colloidal substrate is presented. These composites have potential applications related to their surface and magnetic properties.

Visualization of Vorticity Banding in a Shear Thickening Micellar Solution in Couette Flow

The shear thickening behavior and flow instabilities of an equimolar semidilute aqueous solution of cetylpyridinium chloride and sodium salicylate were studied in this work by using rheometry coupled with flow visualization. The experiments were conducted at 25°C in a stress controlled Couette rheometer with a transparent flow cell. A detailed flow curve was obtained for this solution, which includes five different regimes. At very low shear rates a Newtonian behavior was found, followed by a shear thinning one in the second regime. In the third regime, a strong orientation of the micelles consistent with shear banding served as a precursor of the shear induced structures (SIS) and shear thickening. The fourth and fifth regimes in the flow curve were separated by a spurt-like behavior, and they clearly evidenced the existence of shear thickening accompanied by stick–slip oscillations at the rotating cylinder. The use of the combined method allowed the detection of SIS. The visualization of this solution in the shear thickening regime showed the build-up of SIS (turbid fluid) in the shear banding regime followed by large variations in shear rate and viscosity, corresponding to the oscillation of clear and turbid bands stacked in the vorticity direction. These alternating bands and shear rate variations are in agreement with the presence of the vorticity banding instability as well as with the creation and destruction of SIS.

Simultaneous measurements of pressure, electric charge and transmitted light intensity during the extrusion of polymer melts

The simultaneous measurement and record of pressure, as well as the electric charge and transmitted light intensity in an extrudate allows one to study the flow instabilities occurring in the extrusion of linear polymer melts. An experimental procedure to carry out measurements of these variables during the continuous extrusion of polymer melts was developed. A board with conditioning circuits to handle the analog signals coming from the transducers was built for this purpose. The voltages generated by these circuits are sent to a data acquisition board in order to measure and record the variables of interest by means of a personal computer. A program was written in the graphical programming language G of LabVIEW/spl trade/ which permits the visualization and plotting of the physical variables in real time. The program is also able to store the measured data and presents options to filter the signals and to obtain their frequency spectrum. The system was successfully tested in the study of the unstable flow of linear polyethylene melts.