Showing papers on "Rheology published in 2018"

Rheology of dense granular suspensions

Abstract: Suspensions are composed of mixtures of particles and fluid and are omnipresent in natural phenomena and in industrial processes. The present paper addresses the rheology of concentrated suspensions of non-colloidal particles. While hydrodynamic interactions or lubrication forces between the particles are important in the dilute regime, they become of lesser significance when the concentration is increased, and direct particle contacts become dominant in the rheological response of concentrated suspensions, particularly those close to the maximum volume fraction where the suspension ceases to flow. The rheology of these dense suspensions can be approached via a diversity of approaches that the paper introduces successively. The mixture of particles and fluid can be seen as a fluid with effective rheological properties but also as a two-phase system wherein the fluid and particles can experience relative motion. Rheometry can be undertaken at an imposed volume fraction but also at imposed values of particle normal stress, which is particularly suited to yield examination of the rheology close to the jamming transition. The response of suspensions to unsteady or transient flows provides access to different features of the suspension rheology. Finally, beyond the problem of suspension of rigid, non-colloidal spheres in a Newtonian fluid, there are a great variety of complex mixtures of particles and fluid that remain relatively unexplored.

A constitutive model for simple shear of dense frictional suspensions

Abstract: Discrete particle simulations are used to study the shear rheology of dense, stabilized, frictional particulate suspensions in a viscous liquid, toward development of a constitutive model for steady shear flows at arbitrary stress. These suspensions undergo increasingly strong continuous shear thickening (CST) as the solid volume fraction ϕ increases above a critical volume fraction, and discontinuous shear thickening (DST) is observed in a range of ϕ. When studied at controlled stress, the DST behavior is associated with nonmonotonic flow curves of the steady-state shear rate as a function of stress. Recent studies have related shear thickening to a transition from mostly lubricated to predominantly frictional contacts with the increase in stress. In this study, the behavior is simulated over wide ranges of concentration, dimensionless shear stress, and coefficient of interparticle friction. The simulation data have been used to populate the lubricated-to-frictional rheology model of Wyart and Cates [Phy...

Salt-Dependent Rheology and Surface Tension of Protein Condensates Using Optical Traps.

Abstract: An increasing number of proteins with intrinsically disordered domains have been shown to phase separate in buffer to form liquidlike phases. These protein condensates serve as simple models for the investigation of the more complex membraneless organelles in cells. To understand the function of such proteins in cells, the material properties of the condensates they form are important. However, these material properties are not well understood. Here, we develop a novel method based on optical traps to study the frequency-dependent rheology and the surface tension of P-granule protein PGL-3 condensates as a function of salt concentration. We find that PGL-3 droplets are predominantly viscous but also exhibit elastic properties. As the salt concentration is reduced, their elastic modulus, viscosity, and surface tension increase. Our findings show that salt concentration has a strong influence on the rheology and dynamics of protein condensates suggesting an important role of electrostatic interactions for their material properties.

An experimental study on rheological behavior of a nanofluid containing oxide nanoparticle and proposing a new correlation

Abstract: In this paper, the nanofluid dynamic viscosity composed of CeO2- Ethylene Glycol is examined within 25–50 °C with 5 °C intervals and at six volume fractions (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.2%) experimentally. The nanofluid was exposed to ultrasound waves for various durations to study the effect of this parameter on dynamic viscosity of the fluid. We found that at a constant temperature, nanofluid viscosity increases with increases in the volume fraction of the nanoparticles. Also, at a given volume fraction, nanofluid viscosity decreases when temperature is increased. Maximum increase in nanofluid viscosity compared to the base fluid viscosity occurs at 25 °C and volume fraction of 1.2%. It can be inferred that the obtained mathematical relationship is a suitable predicting model for estimating dynamic viscosity of CeO2- Ethylene Glycol (EG) at different volume fractions and temperatures and its results are consistent to laboratory results in the set volume fraction and temperature ranges.

Roughness-dependent tribology effects on discontinuous shear thickening.

Abstract: Surface roughness affects many properties of colloids, from depletion and capillary interactions to their dispersibility and use as emulsion stabilizers. It also impacts particle-particle frictional contacts, which have recently emerged as being responsible for the discontinuous shear thickening (DST) of dense suspensions. Tribological properties of these contacts have been rarely experimentally accessed, especially for nonspherical particles. Here, we systematically tackle the effect of nanoscale surface roughness by producing a library of all-silica, raspberry-like colloids and linking their rheology to their tribology. Rougher surfaces lead to a significant anticipation of DST onset, in terms of both shear rate and solid loading. Strikingly, they also eliminate continuous thickening. DST is here due to the interlocking of asperities, which we have identified as "stick-slip" frictional contacts by measuring the sliding of the same particles via lateral force microscopy (LFM). Direct measurements of particle-particle friction therefore highlight the value of an engineering-tribology approach to tuning the thickening of suspensions.

Carbopol: From a simple to a thixotropic yield stress fluid

Abstract: There is an ongoing discussion in the literature about the flow behavior of the widely used model yield-stress fluid Carbopol. Some papers show that it is indeed the simple model yield-stress fluid that many people believe it to be. However, other authors report rheological hysteresis in the flow curve, transient shear banding that persists for a very long time, and the breaking of fore-aft symmetry in a falling ball experiment. Such behaviors have in the past been associated with thixotropic yield stress fluids, which are very different from simple ones. We present experiments that suggest that both types of behavior may be found in the same type of Carbopol, depending on the preparation: After strong stirring for a long time, the system becomes slightly thixotropic. Flow visualization experiments with fluorescently labeled Carbopol elucidate the difference between the simple and thixotropic behavior of the systems: The stirring breaks the polymers into smaller fragments, some of which are so small that they exhibit Brownian motion. We propose that this generates a depletion interaction that leads to gel formation, which in turn leads to the thixotropy.

How viscoelastic is human blood plasma

Abstract: Blood plasma has been considered a Newtonian fluid for decades. Recent experiments (Brust et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 2013, 110) revealed that blood plasma has a pronounced viscoelastic behavior. This claim was based on purely elastic effects observed in the collapse of a thin plasma filament and the fast flow of plasma inside a contraction-expansion microchannel. However, due to the fact that plasma is a solution with very low viscosity, conventional rotational rheometers are not able to stretch the proteins effectively and thus, provide information about the viscoelastic properties of plasma. Using computational rheology and a molecular-based constitutive model, we predict accurately the rheological response of human blood plasma in strong extensional and constriction complex flows. The complete rheological characterization of plasma yields the first quantitative estimation of its viscoelastic properties in shear and extensional flows. We find that although plasma is characterized by a spectrum of ultra-short relaxation times (on the order of 10-3-10-5 s), its elastic nature dominates in flows that feature high shear and extensional rates, such as blood flow in microvessels. We show that plasma exhibits intense strain hardening when exposed to extensional deformations due to the stretch of the proteins in its bulk. In addition, using simple theoretical considerations we propose fibrinogen as the main candidate that attributes elasticity to plasma. These findings confirm that human blood plasma features bulk viscoelasticity and indicate that this non-Newtonian response should be seriously taken into consideration when examining whole blood flow.

Experimental study of improved rheology and lubricity of drilling fluids enhanced with nano-particles

Abstract: An experimental study of the rheology and lubricity properties of a drilling fluid is reported, motivated by applications in highly deviated and extended reach wells. Recent developments in nanofluids have identified that the judicious injection of nano-particles into working drilling fluids may resolve a number of issues including borehole instability, lost circulation, torque and drag, pipe sticking problems, bit balling and reduction in drilling speed. The aim of this article is, therefore, to evaluate the rheological characteristics and lubricity of different nano-particles in water-based mud, with the potential to reduce costs via a decrease in drag and torque during the construction of highly deviated and ERD wells. Extensive results are presented for percentage in torque variation and coefficient of friction before and after aging. Rheology is evaluated via apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity and gel strength variation before and after aging for water-based muds (WBM). Results are included for silica and titanium nano-particles at different concentrations. These properties were measured before and after aging the mud samples at 80 °C during 16 h at static conditions. The best performance was shown with titanium nano-particles at a concentration of 0.60% (w/w) before aging.

Shear thinning in non-Brownian suspensions.

Abstract: We study the flow of suspensions of non-Brownian particles dispersed into a Newtonian solvent. Combining capillary rheometry and conventional rheometry, we evidence a succession of two shear thinning regimes separated by a shear thickening one. Through X-ray radiography measurements, we show that during each of those regimes, the flow remains homogeneous and does not involve particle migration. Using a quartz-tuning fork based atomic force microscope, we measure the repulsive force profile and the microscopic friction coefficient μ between two particles immersed into the solvent, as a function of normal load. Coupling measurements from those three techniques, we propose that (1) the first shear-thinning regime at low shear rates occurs for a lubricated rheology and can be interpreted as a decrease of the effective volume fraction under increasing particle pressures, due to short-ranged repulsive forces and (2) the second shear thinning regime after the shear-thickening transition occurs for a frictional rheology and can be interpreted as stemming from a decrease of the microscopic friction coefficient at large normal load.

Basic Fundamentals of Petroleum Rheology and Their Application for the Investigation of Crude Oils of Different Natures

Abstract: A pair of basic methods for investigating the rheological properties of complex fluids were considered: steady flow and small amplitude oscillatory shear. The methods were applied to study rheological properties of eight petroleum samples belonging to different classes (light, heavy, waxy crude oils, and bitumen). It was shown how the viscosity of a crude oil depends on its nature, temperature, and applied stress. To characterize the viscous behavior of oils, one can use their glass transition temperature: the Williams–Landel–Ferry equation makes it possible to construct a universal temperature dependence of the viscosity. The latter determines the viscosity of any petroleum at temperature of interest from that at some other temperature. Linear and nonlinear viscoelastic properties of oils were demonstrated, and the manifestations of viscoelasticity by various crude oils were shown. It was revealed how the pour point of heavy oil can be calculated from its viscosity.

Rheology of suspensions of viscoelastic spheres : Deformability as an effective volume fraction

Abstract: We study suspensions of deformable (viscoelastic) spheres in a Newtonian solvent in planeCouette geometry, by means of direct numerical simulations. We find that in the limit of vanishing inertia, ...

Rheological and filtration characteristics of drilling fluids enhanced by nanoparticles with selected additives: an experimental study

Abstract: The suspension properties of drilling fluids containing pure and polymer-treated (partially-hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PHPA) or Xanthan gum) clay nanoparticles are compared withthose of a conventional water-and-bentonite-based drilling fluid, used as the referencesample. Additionally, the mud weight, plastic viscosity, apparent viscosity, yield point, primary and secondary gelatinization properties, pH, and filtration properties of the various drilling fluids studied are also measured and compared. The performance of each drilling fluid type is evaluated with respect in terms of its ability to reduce mud cake thickness and fluid loss thereby inhibiting differential-pipe-sticking. For that scenario, the mud-cake thickness is varied, and the filtration properties of the drilling fluids are measured as an indicator of potential well-diameter reduction, caused by mud cake, adjacent to permeable formations. The novel results show that nanoparticles do significantly enhance the rheological and filtration characteristics of drilling fluids. A pure-clay-nanoparticle suspension, without any additives, reduced fluid loss to about 42% and reduced mud cake thickness to 30% compared to the reference sample. The xanthan-gum-treated-clay-nanoparticle drilling fluid showed good fluid loss control and reduced fluid loss by 61% compared to the reference sample. The presence of nanofluids also leads to reduced mud-cake thicknesses, directly mitigating the risks of differential pipe sticking. Cited as : Mohamadian, N., Ghorbani, H., Wood, D., Hormozi, H.K. Rheological and filtration characteristics of drilling fluids enhanced by nanoparticles with selected additives: an experimental study. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2018, 2(3): 228-236, doi: 10.26804/ager.2018.03.01

Electroosmotic flow of Phan-Thien-Tanner fluids at high zeta potentials: An exact analytical solution

Abstract: We present a mathematical model to study the electroosmotic flow of a viscoelastic fluid in a parallel plate microchannel with a high zeta potential, taking hydrodynamic slippage at the walls into account in the underlying analysis. We use the simplified Phan-Thien–Tanner (s-PTT) constitutive relationships to describe the rheological behavior of the viscoelastic fluid, while Navier’s slip law is employed to model the interfacial hydrodynamic slip. Here, we derive analytical solutions for the potential distribution, flow velocity, and volumetric flow rate based on the complete Poisson–Boltzmann equation (without considering the frequently used Debye–Huckel linear approximation). For the underlying electrokinetic transport, this investigation primarily reveals the influence of fluid rheology, wall zeta potential as modulated by the interfacial electrochemistry and interfacial slip on the velocity distribution, volumetric flow rate, and fluid stress, as well as the apparent viscosity. We show that combined with the viscoelasticity of the fluid, a higher wall zeta potential and slip coefficient lead to a phenomenal enhancement in the volumetric flow rate. We believe that this analysis, besides providing a deep theoretical insight to interpret the transport process, will also serve as a fundamental design tool for microfluidic devices/systems under electrokinetic influence.