Rheology

Rheology (pronounced /riˈɒlədʒi/) is the study of the flow of matter: mainly

liquids but also soft solids or solids under conditions in which they flow rather than
deform elastically[1]. It applies to substances which have a complex structure,
including muds, sludges, suspensions, polymers, many foods, bodily fluids, and
other biological materials. The flow of these substances cannot be characterized by a
single value of viscosity (at a fixed temperature)[2] - instead the viscosity changes due
to other factors. For example ketchup can have its viscosity reduced by shaking, but
water cannot. Since Isaac Newton originated the concept of viscosity, the study of
variable viscosity liquids is also often called Non-Newtonian fluid mechanics.[1] The
term rheology was coined by Eugene C. Bingham, a professor at Lafayette College,
in 1920, from a suggestion by a colleague, Markus Reiner.[3] The term was inspired
by the quotation mistakenly attributed to Heraclitus, (actually coming from the
writings of Simplicius) panta rei, "everything flows". The experimental characterisation
of a material's rheological behavior is known as rheometry, although the term rheology is
frequently used synonymously with rheometry, particularly by experimentalists.
Theoretical aspects of rheology are the relation of the flow/deformation behavior of
material and its internal structure (e.g., the orientation and elongation of polymer
molecules), and the flow/deformation behavior of materials that cannot be described by
classical fluid mechanics or elasticity.

Scope
In practice, rheology is principally concerned with extending the "classical" disciplines of
elasticity and (Newtonian) fluid mechanics to materials whose mechanical behavior
cannot be described with the classical theories. It is also concerned with establishing
predictions for mechanical behavior (on the continuum mechanical scale) based on the
micro- or nanostructure of the material, e.g. the molecular size and architecture of
polymers in solution or the particle size distribution in a solid suspension. Materials flow
when subjected to a stress, that is a force per area. There are different sorts of stress[4] and
materials can respond in various ways, so much of theoretical rheology is concerned with
forces and stresses.[1]

Rheology unites the seemingly unrelated fields of plasticity and non-Newtonian fluids by
recognizing that both these types of materials are unable to support a shear stress in static
equilibrium. In this sense, a plastic solid is a fluid. Granular rheology refers to the
continuum mechanical description of granular materials.

One of the tasks of rheology is to empirically establish the relationships between

deformations and stresses, respectively their derivatives by adequate measurements.
These experimental techniques are known as rheometry and are concerned with the
determination with well-defined rheological material functions. Such relationships are
then amenable to mathematical treatment by the established methods of continuum
mechanics.
The characterisation of flow or deformation originating from a simple shear stress field is
called shear rheometry (or shear rheology). The study of extensional flows is called
extensional rheology. Shear flows are much easier to study and thus much more
experimental data are available for shear flows than for extensional flows.

Rheologist
A rheologist is an interdisciplinary scientist who studies the flow of complex liquids or
the deformation of soft solids. It is not taken as a primary degree subject, and there is no
general qualification. He or she will usually have a primary qualification in one of several
fields: mathematics, the physical sciences[5], engineering[6], medicine, or certain
technologies, notably materials or food. A small amount of rheology may be given during
the first degree, but the professional will extend this knowledge during postgraduate
research or by attending short courses and by joining one of the professional associations

Applications
Rheology has applications in engineering, geophysics, physiology and pharmaceutics. In
engineering, it affects the production and use of polymeric materials, but plasticity
theory has been similarly important for the design of metal forming processes. Many
industrially important substances such as concrete, paint and chocolate have complex
flow characteristics. Geophysics includes the flow of lava, but in addition measures the
flow of solid Earth materials over long time scales: those that display viscous behavior,
e.g. granite [7], are known as rheids. In physiology, many bodily fluids are have complex
compositions and thus flow characteristics. In particular there is a specialist study of
blood flow called hemorheology. The term biorheology is used for the wider field of
study of the flow properties of biological fluids.

Elasticity, viscosity, solid- and liquid-like behavior,

plasticity
One generally associates liquids with viscous behavior (a thick oil is a viscous liquid) and
solids with elastic behavior (an elastic string is an elastic solid). A more general point of
view is to consider the material behavior at short times (relative to the duration of the
experiment/application of interest) and at long times.

Liquid and solid character are relevant at long times

We consider the application of a constant stress (a so-called creep experiment):

• if the material, after some deformation, eventually resists further deformation, it is

considered a solid
• if, by contrast, the material flows indefinitely, it is considered a liquid
By contrast, elastic and viscous (or intermediate, viscoelastic) behavior is relevant at
short times (transient behavior)

We again consider the application of a constant stress:

• if the material deformation strain increases linearly with increasing applied stress ,
then the material is purely elastic
• if the material deformation rate increases linearly with increasing applied stress,
then the material is purely viscous
• if neither the deformation strain, nor its derivative with time (rate) follows the
applied stress, then the material is viscoelastic

Plasticity is equivalent to the existence of a yield stress

A material that behaves as a solid under low applied stresses may start to flow above a
certain level of stress, called the yield stress of the material. The term plastic solid is
often used when this plasticity threshold is rather high, while yield stress fluid is used
when the threshold stress is rather low. There is no fundamental difference, however,
between both concepts.

Newtonian fluid
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A Newtonian fluid (named for Isaac Newton) is a fluid whose stress versus rate of strain
curve is linear and passes through the origin. The constant of proportionality is known as
the viscosity.

Definition
A simple equation to describe Newtonian fluid behaviour is

where

τ is the shear stress exerted by the fluid ("drag") [Pa]

μ is the fluid viscosity - a constant of proportionality [Pa·s]
is the velocity gradient perpendicular to the direction of shear [s−1]

In common terms, this means the fluid continues to flow, regardless of the forces acting
on it. For example, water is Newtonian, because it continues to exemplify fluid properties
no matter how fast it is stirred or mixed. Contrast this with a non-Newtonian fluid, in
which stirring can leave a "hole" behind (that gradually fills up over time - this behaviour
is seen in materials such as pudding, starch in water (oobleck), or, to a less rigorous
extent, sand), or cause the fluid to become thinner, the drop in viscosity causing it to flow
more (this is seen in non-drip paints, which brush on easily but become more viscous
when on walls).

For a Newtonian fluid, the viscosity, by definition, depends only on temperature and
pressure (and also the chemical composition of the fluid if the fluid is not a pure
substance), not on the forces acting upon it.

If the fluid is incompressible and viscosity is constant across the fluid, the equation
governing the shear stress, in the Cartesian coordinate system, is

with comoving stress tensor (also written as )

where, by the convention of tensor notation,

τij is the shear stress on the ith face of a fluid element in the jth direction
ui is the velocity in the ith direction
xj is the jth direction coordinate
If a fluid does not obey this relation, it is termed a non-Newtonian fluid, of which there
are several types, including polymer solutions, molten polymers, many solid suspensions
and most highly viscous fluids.

Non-Newtonian fluid

A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid whose flow properties are not described by a single
constant value of viscosity. Many polymer solutions and molten polymers are non-
Newtonian fluids, as are many commonly found substances such as ketchup, starch
suspensions, paint, blood and shampoo. In a Newtonian fluid, the relation between the
shear stress and the strain rate is linear (and if one were to plot this relationship, it would
pass through the origin), the constant of proportionality being the coefficient of viscosity.
In a non-Newtonian fluid, the relation between the shear stress and the strain rate is
nonlinear, and can even be time-dependent. Therefore a constant coefficient of viscosity
cannot be defined. A ratio between shear stress and rate of strain (or shear-dependent
viscosity) can be defined, this concept being more useful for fluids without time-
dependent behavior.

Although the concept of viscosity is commonly used to characterize a material, it can be

inadequate to describe the mechanical behavior of a substance, particularly non-
Newtonian fluids. They are best studied through several other rheological properties
which relate the relations between the stress and strain rate tensors under many different
flow conditions, such as oscillatory shear, or extensional flow which are measured using
different devices or rheometers. The properties are better studied using tensor-valued
constitutive equations, which are common in the field of continuum mechanics.
 Common examples

An inexpensive, non-toxic example of a non-Newtonian fluid is a suspension of starch

(e.g. cornflour) in water, sometimes called oobleck[1] (uncooked imitation custard, being a
suspension of primarily cornflour, has the same properties). The sudden application of
force — for example by stabbing the surface with a finger, or rapidly inverting the
container holding it — leads to the fluid behaving like a solid rather than a liquid. This is
the "shear thickening" property of this non-Newtonian fluid. More gentle treatment, such
as slowly inserting a spoon, will leave it in its liquid state. Trying to jerk the spoon back
out again, however, will trigger the return of the temporary solid state. A person moving
quickly and applying sufficient force with their feet can literally walk across such a
liquid.[2]

Shear thickening fluids of this sort are being researched for bullet resistant body armor[3],
useful for their ability to absorb the energy of a high velocity projectile impact but remain
soft and flexible while worn. Some shear thickening fluids are also used in all wheel
drive systems utilising a viscous coupling unit for power transmission.

A familiar example of the opposite, a shear thinning fluid, or pseudoplastic fluid, is paint:
one wants the paint to flow readily off the brush when it is being applied to the surface
being painted, but not to drip excessively.

There are fluids which have a linear shear stress/shear strain relationship which require a
finite yield stress before they begin to flow. That is the shear stress, shear strain curve
doesn't pass through the origin. These fluids are called Bingham plastics. Several
examples are clay suspensions, drilling mud, toothpaste, mayonnaise, chocolate, and
mustard. The classic case is ketchup which will not come out of the bottle until you stress
it by shaking.

There are also fluids whose strain rate is a function of time. Fluids that require a
gradually increasing shear stress to maintain a constant strain rate are referred to as
rheopectic. An opposite case of this, is a fluid that thins out with time and requires a
decreasing stress to maintain a constant strain rate (thixotropic).