Showing papers on "Rheometer published in 2010"

A double wall-ring geometry for interfacial shear rheometry

Abstract: The rheological properties of complex fluid interfaces are of prime importance in a number of technological and biological applications. Whereas several methods have been proposed to measure the surface rheological properties, it remains an intrinsically challenging problem due to the small forces and torques involved and due to the intricate coupling between interfacial and bulk flows. In the present work, a double wall-ring geometry to measure the viscoelastic properties of interfaces in shear flows is presented. The geometry can be used in combination with a modern rotational rheometer. A numerical analysis of the flow field as a function of the surface viscoelastic properties is presented to evaluate the non-linearities in the surface velocity profile at a low Boussinesq number. The sensitivity of the geometry, as well as its applicability, are demonstrated using some reference Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids. Oscillatory and steady shear measurements on these reference complex fluid interfaces demonstrate the intrinsic sensitivity, the accuracy, and the dynamic range of the geometry when used in combination with a sensitive rheometer.

Rheology of interfacial layers

Abstract: The response of interfacial layers to deformations in size and shape depends on their composition. The corresponding main mechanical quantities are elasticity and viscosity of dilation and shear, respectively. Hence, the interfacial rheology represents a kind of two-dimensional equivalent to the traditional bulk rheology. Due to growing interest in the quantitative understanding of foams and emulsions, more works are dedicated to studies on interfacial rheology. This overview presents the theoretical basis for traditional and recently developed experimental tools and discusses their application to different interfacial systems. While dilational rheology provides information on the composition of mixed interfacial layers, the shear rheology gives answers essentially on structures formed at an interface. The most frequently used methods at present are the oscillating drop and bubble tensiometry methods for dilational deformations and oscillating ring/bicone rheometers for shear deformations.

Microfluidic rheology of soft colloids above and below jamming.

Abstract: The rheology near jamming of a suspension of soft colloidal spheres is studied using a custom microfluidic rheometer that provides the stress versus strain rate over many decades. We find non-Newtonian behavior below the jamming concentration and yield-stress behavior above it. The data may be collapsed onto two branches with critical scaling exponents that agree with expectations based on Hertzian contacts and viscous drag. These results support the conclusion that jamming is similar to a critical phase transition, but with interaction-dependent exponents.

New Composite Elastomers with Giant Magnetic Response

Abstract: Novel magnetorheological elastomers (MRE) based on a highly elastic silicone rubber filled with carbonyl iron magnetic particles of 3―5 and 3―50 μm are synthesized. The effect of an external homogeneous magnetic field on the viscoelastic properties of these materials is studied by dynamic experiments (shear oscillations on a rheometer). It is shown that the magnetic response of the MRE increases with a decrease of the strain. At 1% deformation both the storage and loss moduli of the new MRE demonstrate a giant response to the magnetic field, namely, an increase of more than two orders of magnitude in both moduli in a field of 300 mT is observed. In addition, these new MREs show a twofold increase of the damping ratio, which is important for their application as tunable vibration absorbers.

Extensional rheology of a shear-thickening cornstarch and water suspension

Abstract: A filament-stretching rheometer is used to measure the extensional viscosity of a shear-thickening suspension of cornstarch in water. The experiments are performed at a concentration of 55 wt.%. The shear rheology of these suspensions demonstrates a strong shear-thickening behavior. The extensional rheology of the suspensions demonstrates a Newtonian response at low extension rates. At moderate strain rates, the fluid strain hardens. The speed of the strain hardening and the extensional viscosity achieved increase quickly with increasing extension rate. Above a critical extension rate, the extensional viscosity goes through a maximum and the fluid filaments fail through a brittle fracture at a constant tensile stress. The glassy response of the suspension is likely the result of jamming of particles or clusters of particles at these high extension rates. This same mechanism is responsible for the shear thickening of these suspensions. In capillary breakup extensional rheometry, measurement of these suspensions demonstrates a divergence in the extensional viscosity as the fluid stops draining after a modest strain is accumulated.

The Dilute Rheology of Swimming Suspensions: A Simple Kinetic Model

Abstract: A simple kinetic model is presented for the shear rheology of a dilute suspension of particles swimming at low Reynolds number. If interparticle hydrodynamic interactions are neglected, the configuration of the suspension is characterized by the particle orientation distribution, which satisfies a Fokker-Planck equation including the effects of the external shear flow, rotary diffusion, and particle tumbling. The orientation distribution then determines the leading-order term in the particle extra stress in the suspension, which can be evaluated based on the classic theory of Hinch and Leal (J Fluid Mech 52(4):683–712, 1972), and involves an additional contribution arising from the permanent force dipole exerted by the particles as they propel themselves through the fluid. Numerical solutions of the steady-state Fokker-Planck equation were obtained using a spectral method, and results are reported for the shear viscosity and normal stress difference coefficients in terms of flow strength, rotary diffusivity, and correlation time for tumbling. It is found that the rheology is characterized by much stronger normal stress differences than for passive suspensions, and that tail-actuated swimmers result in a strong decrease in the effective shear viscosity of the fluid.

Differences between stress and strain control in the non-linear behavior of complex fluids

Abstract: Various techniques have been proposed to characterize the behavior in the non-linear regime. A new theoretical framework, as proposed recently by Ewoldt et al. (J Rheol 52(6):1427–1458, 2008), provides a quantitative analysis of Lissajous figures during large-amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS). Intra- and intercycle non-linearities, strain stiffening and softening, and shear thinning and thickening are described and can be distinguished. The new LAOS framework from Ewoldt et al. has been extended to a sinusoidal stress input. Measurements on two different samples reveal significant different results for sinusoidal strain or sinusoidal stress input. For both sinusoidal inputs, the results have been verified by cyclic stress and strain loading tests. The sinusoidal input tests are analyzed as an oscillatory test by the rheometer software and firmware, whereas the cyclic loading tests are purely rotational tests. Since both types of testing give the same results, any instrumental artifacts can be excluded. This implies that complex fluids can behave differently whether periodic stress or strain input functions outside the linear visco-elastic range are applied. All tests in controlled strain and stress in rotational and oscillatory modes have been performed with the same rheometer based on an air bearing-supported electrically commutated synchronous motor.

Evaluation of the inkjet fluid’s performance using the “Cambridge Trimaster” filament stretch and break-up device

Abstract: This paper describes the design and initial results from the “Cambridge Trimaster,” a recently developed high speed filament stretch and break-up device that can be used for viscoelastic fluids with shear viscosities as low as 10 mPa s. Extensional viscosity and filament break-up behavior were studied optically using a high speed camera and extensional viscosity values determined for a series of mono-disperse polystyrene solutions up to a weight concentration of 5 wt % were measured as a function of the polymer loading. The transient stretching and break-up profiles recorded with the apparatus were observed and correlated with drop formation for drop-on-demand inkjet printing fluids. This allowed the filament break-up behavior to be ranked in terms of satellite drop and droplet filament behavior. Correlation with previous work on the jetting of similar low viscosity viscoelastic polymer solutions demonstrated the ability of this apparatus to characterize inkjet fluids.

How does a soft glassy material flow: finite size effects, non local rheology, and flow cooperativity

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the rheological behavior of jammed emulsions in microchannels on the basis of microvelocimetry techniques. We demonstrate that velocity profiles in this confined geometry cannot be accounted for by the bulk - Herschel-Bulkley - rheological flow curve measured independently in a rheometer. A strong dependence of the flow behavior on the confinement, pressure drop and surface roughness is evidenced, which cannot be described by classical rheological descriptions. We show that these behaviors can be rationalized on the basis of a non local rheological model, introducing the notion of local fluidity as a key rheological quantity. The model reproduces the experimental velocity profiles for any confinements and any surface nature. The non-locality is quantified by a length, ζ, characterizing the flow cooperativity of jammed emulsions, and typically of the order of several emulsion droplet diameters. We study the influence of volume fraction, droplet diameter, and emulsions polydispersity on this length.

Viscoelastic properties of silica nanoparticle monolayers at the air-water interface.

Abstract: We have investigated the rheological behaviour of silica nanoparticle layers at the air-water interface. Both compressed and deposited layers have been studied in Langmuir troughs and with a bicone rheometer. The compressed layers are more homogeneous and rigid, and the elastic response to continuous, step and oscillatory compression are similar, provided the compression is fast enough and relaxation is prevented. The deposited layers are less rigid and more viscoelastic. Their shear moduli deduced from the oscillatory uniaxial compression are much smaller than those deduced from pure shear deformation suggesting that the effective shear rate is smaller than expected in the compression measurements.

Dynamics of bead formation, filament thinning and breakup in weakly viscoelastic jets

Abstract: The spatiotemporal evolution of a viscoelastic jet depends on the relative magnitude of capillary, viscous, inertial and elastic stresses. The interplay of capillary and elastic stresses leads to the formation of very thin and stable filaments between drops, or to ‘beads-on-a-string’ structure. In this paper, we show that by understanding the physical processes that control different stages of the jet evolution it is possible to extract transient extensional viscosity information even for very low viscosity and weakly elastic liquids, which is a particular challenge in using traditional rheometers. The parameter space at which a forced jet can be used as an extensional rheometer is numerically investigated by using a one-dimensional nonlinear free-surface theory for Oldroyd-B and Giesekus fluids. The results show that even when the ratio of viscous to inertio-capillary time scales (or Ohnesorge number) is as low as Oh ~ 0.02, the temporal evolution of the jet can be used to obtain elongational properties of the liquid.

Bitumen and Heavy Oil Rheological Properties: Reconciliation with Viscosity Measurements

Abstract: Complex viscosity and phase-angle measurements for Athabasca bitumen and Maya crude oil were performed with a rotational rheometer using parallel plates and a double gap cylinder in the oscillatory mode over the temperature range of (200 to 410) K. A large range of shearing conditions were applied (frequency of oscillations, shear strain, or stress), and up to three orders of magnitude of variations in measured viscosity values for individual samples at a fixed temperature were obtained. Athabasca bitumen and Maya crude oil were found to be solid-like materials up to (260 to 280) K and (230 to 240) K, respectively. Athabasca bitumen is a non-Newtonian shear-thinning fluid up to (310 to 315) K, whereas Maya crude is a shear-thinning fluid up to (280 to 285) K. Both are Newtonian at higher temperatures. Maya crude oil was also found to possess thixotropic behavior. Athabasca bitumen reveals the thermal irreversibility of complex viscosity, if it is heated above 360 K. These rheological behaviors are attribu...

New Technique for Measuring Low-Temperature Properties of Asphalt Binders with Small Amounts of Material

Abstract: A new technique, which uses 4-mm parallel plates on a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) with machine compliance corrections, was developed to measure low-temperature properties of asphalts. Good results have been achieved at test temperatures as low as -40°C. The test method requires only about 25 mg of material instead of 15 g for the bending beam rheometer (BBR). Also, no specimen premolding is needed, and a relatively low temperature (60°C to 70°C) is required to load the samples into the measuring system. The key to the new technique is correction for errors due to machine compliance. Two types of machine compliance correction were applied to the dynamic frequency sweep data in this work. The following areas were investigated: effects of machine compliance on the measured low-temperature properties, reproducibility of data, consistency among data collected on different sizes of plates after machine compliance corrections, and comparison between the corrected data from DSR and converted BBR data. Results s...

Effects of shear stress on the microalgae Chaetoceros muelleri

Abstract: The effect of shear stress on the viability of Chaetoceros muelleri was studied using a combination of a rheometer and dedicated shearing devices. Different levels of shear stress were applied by varying the shear rates and the medium viscosities. It was possible to quantify the effect of shear stress over a wide range, whilst preserving laminar flow conditions through the use of a thickening agent. The threshold value at which the viability of algae was negatively influenced was between 1 and 1.3 Pa. Beyond the threshold value the viability decreased suddenly to values between 52 and 66%. The effect of shear stress was almost time independent compared to normal microalgae cultivation times. The main shear stress effect was obtained within 1 min, with a secondary effect of up to 8 min.

Rheological evaluation of petroleum jelly as a base material in ointment and cream formulations: steady shear flow behavior.

Abstract: The objective of the present study is to systematically characterize a nonlinear rheological behavior of petroleum jelly (petrolatum) in steady shear flow fields correspondent to the spreading condition onto the human body. With this aim, using a strain-controlled rheometer, the steady shear flow properties of commercially available petroleum jelly have been measured at 37°C (body temperature) over a wide range of shear rates. In this article, the shear rate dependence of steady shear flow behavior was reported from the experimentally obtained data. In particular, the existence of a yield stress and a non-Newtonian flow behavior were discussed in depth with a special emphasis on their importance in actual application onto the human body. In addition, several inelastic-viscoplastic flow models including a yield stress parameter were employed to make a quantitative description of the steady shear flow behavior, and then the applicability of these models was examined in detail. Main findings obtained from this study can be summarized as follows: (1) Petroleum jelly exhibits a finite magnitude of yield stress. The appearance of a yield stress is attributed to its three-dimensional network structure that can show a resistance to flow and plays an important role in determining a storage stability and sensory feature of the product. (2) Petroleum jelly demonstrates a pronounced non-Newtonian shear-thinning flow behavior which is well described by a power-law equation and may be interpreted by the disruption of a crystalline network under the influence of mechanical shear deformation. This rheological feature enhances sensory qualities of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products in which petroleum jelly is used as a base material during their actual usage. (3) The Casson, Mizrahi-Berk, Heinz-Casson and Herschel-Bulkley models are all applicable and have almost an equivalent ability to quatitatively describe the steady shear flow behavior of petroleum jelly whereas the Bingham model does not give a good validity. Among these flow models, the Herschel-Bulkley model provides the best applicability.

Elastic turbulence in shear banding wormlike micelles.

Abstract: We study the dynamics of the Taylor-Couette flow of shear banding wormlike micelles. We focus on the high shear rate branch of the flow curve and show that for sufficiently high Weissenberg numbers, this branch becomes unstable. This instability is strongly subcritical and is associated with a shear stress jump. We find that this increase of the flow resistance is related to the nucleation of turbulence. The flow pattern shows similarities with the elastic turbulence, so far only observed for polymer solutions. The unstable character of this branch led us to propose a scenario that could account for the recent observations of Taylor-like vortices during the shear banding flow of wormlike micelles.

Rheology of Dilute Acid Hydrolyzed Corn Stover at High Solids Concentration

Abstract: The rheological properties of acid hydrolyzed corn stover at high solids concentration (20-35 wt.%) were investigated using torque rheometry. These materials are yield stress fluids whose rheological properties can be well represented by the Bingham model. Yield stresses increase with increasing solids concentration and decrease with increasing hydrolysis reaction temperature, acid concentration, and rheometer temperature. Plastic viscosities increase with increasing solids concentration and tend to decrease with increasing reaction temperature and acid concentration. The solids concentration dependence of the yield stress is consistent with that reported for other fibrous systems. The changes in yield stress with reaction conditions are consistent with observed changes in particle size. This study illustrates that torque rheometry can be used effectively to measure rheological properties of concentrated biomass.

Steady shear rheometry of dissipative particle dynamics models of polymer fluids in reverse Poiseuille flow.

Abstract: Polymer fluids are modeled with dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) as undiluted bead-spring chains and their solutions. The models are assessed by investigating their steady shear-rate properties. Non-Newtonian viscosity and normal stress coefficients, for shear rates from the lower to the upper Newtonian regimes, are calculated from both plane Couette and plane Poiseuille flows. The latter is realized as reverse Poiseuille flow (RPF) generated from two Poiseuille flows driven by uniform body forces in opposite directions along two-halves of a computational domain. Periodic boundary conditions ensure the RPF wall velocity to be zero without density fluctuations. In overlapping shear-rate regimes the RPF properties are confirmed to be in good agreement with those calculated from plane Couette flow with Lees–Edwards periodic boundary conditions (LECs), the standard virtual rheometer for steady shear-rate properties. The concentration and the temperature dependence of the properties of the model fluids are shown to satisfy the principles of concentration and temperature superposition commonly employed in the empirical correlation of real polymer-fluid properties. The thermodynamic validity of the equation of state is found to be a crucial factor for the achievement of time-temperature superposition. With these models, RPF is demonstrated to be an accurate and convenient virtual rheometer for the acquisition of steady shear-rate rheological properties. It complements, confirms, and extends the results obtained with the standard LEC configuration, and it can be used with the output from other particle-based methods, including molecular dynamics, Brownian dynamics, smooth particle hydrodynamics, and the lattice Boltzmann method.

Extensional rheology of concentrated emulsions as probed by capillary breakup elongational rheometry (CaBER)

Abstract: Elongational flow behavior of w/o emulsions has been investigated using a capillary breakup elongational rheometer (CaBER) equipped with an advanced image processing system allowing for precise assessment of the full filament shape. The transient neck diameter D(t), time evolution of the neck curvature κ(t), the region of deformation ldef and the filament lifetime tc are extracted in order to characterize non-uniform filament thinning. Effects of disperse volume fraction ϕ, droplet size dsv, and continuous phase viscosity ηc on the flow properties have been investigated. At a critical volume fraction ϕc, strong shear thinning, and an apparent shear yield stress τy,s occur and shear flow curves are well described by a Herschel–Bulkley model. In CaBER filaments exhibit sharp necking and tc as well as κmax = κ (t = tc) increase, whereas ldef decreases drastically with increasing ϕ. For ϕ < ϕc, D(t) data can be described by a power-law model based on a cylindrical filament approximation using the exponent n and consistency index k from shear experiments. For ϕ ≥ ϕc, D(t) data are fitted using a one-dimensional Herschel–Bulkley approach, but k and τy,s progressively deviate from shear results as ϕ increases. We attribute this to the failure of the cylindrical filament assumption. Filament lifetime is proportional to ηc at all ϕ. Above ϕc,κmax as well as tc/ηc scale linearly with τy,s. The Laplace pressure at the critical stretch ratio ec which is needed to induce capillary thinning can be identified as the elongational yield stress τy,e, if the experimental parameters are chosen such that the axial curvature of the filament profile can be neglected. This is a unique and robust method to determine this quantity for soft matter with τy < 1,000 Pa. For the emulsion series investigated here a ratio τy,e/τy,s = 2.8 ± 0.4 is found independent of ϕ. This result is captured by a generalized Herschel–Bulkley model including the third invariant of the strain-rate tensor proposed here for the first time, which implies that τy,e and τy,s are independent material parameters.

The effect of particle size and migration on the formation of flow-induced structures in viscoelastic suspensions

Abstract: Flow-induced structures in suspensions containing spheres in viscoelastic suspending media were investigated by microscopy and rheo-optical methods. Suspensions of monodisperse polystyrene spheres with diameters ranging from 1.2 to 2.8 μm and dispersed in aqueous solutions of hydroxypropylcellulose were studied in simple shear flows. Optical microscopy observations as well as small-angle light-scattering (SALS) experiments were performed using a parallel plate geometry. In agreement with previous work, necklaces of particles aligned in the flow direction were observed when shearing faster then a critical shear rate, which was found to be independent of particle size. In contrast to earlier work, however, the role of particle migration was found to be of prime importance. Particles were shown to migrate toward the plates where the particles assembled and aligned in strings running in the flow direction. For the smallest particles (1 μm diameter), the formation of particle doublets or short strings along the vorticity direction was observed at low shear rates, which flipped to an orientation into the flow direction and grew into longer strings at higher shear rates. SALS experiments were used to quantify the degree of alignment and its dependence on particle size, shear rate, and gap. For the system under investigation, the degree of alignment was found to increase with increasing shear rate and particle size and with decreasing gap. The present results suggest that, depending on the details of the suspending medium and the size and nature of the suspended particles, the formation of aligned structures is affected by the relative magnitude of the colloidal and hydrodynamic forces and the kinetics of string formation versus the kinetics of migration.

Shear Thickening Fluids Based on Additives with Different Concentrations and Molecular Chain Lengths

Abstract: Shear thickening fluids (STFs) based on additives with different concentrations and molecular chain lengths were investigated. STF samples were prepared with silica and additive dispersed in polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400, where three types of additives with different molecular chain lengths of PEG4000, PEG6000, and PEG10000 were used. For PEG10000, different concentrations, including 0, 1%, 3%, and 5%, were selected to study the influences of additive concentrations. Rheological properties of the samples were measured with a rheometer. The results show that the shear thickening effect was significantly enhanced with the increase of the concentration and the molecular chain length of additives. The mechanism of enhancement was quantitatively explained with the formation of large particles clusters.

Viscoelasticity and extensional rheology of model Cayley-tree polymers of different generations

Abstract: We investigated the rheology of a series of anionically synthesized, model symmetric Cayley tree poly(methylmethacrylates) having from 1 to 4 generations of identical molar mass. The hierarchical relaxation of the different generations was assessed from the linear data by accounting for both the plateau modulus and the characteristic relaxation times. Using a tube-model time-marching analysis based on the concept of hierarchy of motion, we described quantitatively the frequency spectra without adjustable parameters. We also performed uniaxial extensional measurements using the Sentmanat extensional rheometer fixture. The samples tested exhibited significant strain hardening compared to their linear analogs at lower and intermediate Hencky strain rates. This hardening was more pronounced with increasing number of generations, hence branch points. The extracted effective steady extensional viscosity was found to scale with the extensional rate with a power exponent of about -0.5, in agreement with earlier findings with linear polystyrenes. We also extended the time-marching-algorithm to predict the extensional behavior of these polymers using the conceptual framework developed recently for pom-pom and Cayley-tree polymers. Comparison between theoretical and experimental results was satisfactory when the maximum stretch which can be supported by the molecule was estimated by accounting for the recently proposed inter-chain pressure effects. (C) 2010 The Society of Rheology. [DOI: 10.1122/1.3368724]

Capillary breakup extensional rheometry of semi-dilute polymer solutions

Abstract: In this paper the thinning and breakup of filaments of semi-dilute solutions of polystyrene in diethyl phthalate is investigated with a capillary breakup extensional rheometer. The solutions show a long initial viscocapillary balance that can be fitted with 0-D Newtonian and power law models. The onset of the elastocapillary balance is molecular weight dependent and the coil stretch transition of the polymer is shifted close to the breaking point and to small filament diameters. However, the transition is even for concentrations up to c/c* ~ 30 observable due to a strong extension thinning in the Caber experiment. It is shown that the transition to the elasto-capillary balance takes place at local elasto-capillary number Ec* = 4.7 that incorporates the extensional relaxation time λE and the extension thinning viscosity ηE,app.

Inclined plane rheometry of a dense granular suspension

Abstract: We present a new method to measure the viscosity of a dense model suspension using an inclined plane rheometer. The suspension is made of mono-disperse, spherical, non-Brownian polystyrene beads immersed in a density matched silicon oil. We show that with this simple set-up, the viscosity can be directly measured up to volume fractions of ϕ=61% and that particle migration can be neglected. The results are in excellent agreement with local viscosity measurements obtained by magnetic resonance imaging techniques by Ovarlez et al. [J. Rheol. 50(3), 259–292 (2006)]. In the high density regime, we show that the viscosity is within the tested range of parameters, independent of the shear rate and the confinement pressure. Finally, we discuss deviations from the viscous behavior of the suspensions.

On the kinetics of acid sodium caseinate gelation using particle tracking to probe the microrheology.

Abstract: The sol–gel transition of a model dairy system (sodium caseinate solution) which undergoes gelation by acidification has been studied by conventional bulk rheology and particle tracking microrheology, via confocal microscopy. The Brownian diffusion of fluorescent microspheres (0.21, 0.32, 0.5, and 0.89 μm in diameter) with different surface coatings (polyethylene glycol, carboxylate groups and polystyrene) was used to probe spatial mechanical properties of the gels at the scale of microns. The microrheological results are compared with the macroscopic viscoelastic properties (storage and loss shear modulus) measured in a concentric cylinder rheometer (double gap, at shear strain of 0.005 and frequency of 1 Hz). At pH values close to pI of the caseins, where formation of a protein network, i.e., gelation, became obvious from the confocal microscopy and bulk rheological measurements, all the particles had a tendency to adhere to the network. In spite of this, the microrheological values of the moduli were only slightly lower than the macroscopically determined values and the gel points calculated via both techniques tended to be in good agreement. However, the particle tracking method has higher sensitivity and can detect changes in the structuring of the system before these are registered by the bulk rheological measurement.

Rheology of a dilute suspension of liquid-filled elastic capsules.

Abstract: Rheology of a dilute suspension of liquid-filled elastic capsules in linear shear flow is studied by three-dimensional numerical simulations using a front-tracking method. This study is motivated by a recent discovery that a suspension of viscous vesicles exhibits a shear viscosity minimum when the vesicles undergo an unsteady vacillating-breathing dynamics at the threshold of a transition between the tank-treading and tumbling motions. Here we consider capsules of spherical resting shape for which only a steady tank-treading motion is observed. A comprehensive analysis of the suspension rheology is presented over a broad range of viscosity ratio (ratio of internal-to-external fluid viscosity), shear rate (or, capillary number), and capsule surface-area dilatation. We find a result that the capsule suspension exhibits a shear viscosity minimum at moderate values of the viscosity ratio, and high capillary numbers, even when the capsules are in a steady tank-treading motion. It is further observed that the shear viscosity minimum exists for capsules with area-dilating membranes but not for those with nearly incompressible membranes. Nontrivial results are also observed for the normal stress differences which are shown to decrease with increasing capillary number at high viscosity ratios. Such nontrivial results neither can be predicted by the small-deformation theory nor can be explained by the capsule geometry alone. Physical mechanisms underlying these results are studied by decomposing the particle stress tensor into a contribution due to the elastic stresses in the capsule membrane and a contribution due to the viscosity differences between the internal and suspending fluids. It is shown that the elastic contribution is shear-thinning, but the viscous contribution is shear thickening. The coupling between the capsule geometry and the elastic and viscous contributions is analyzed to explain the observed trends in the bulk rheology.