PowderTechnology86 (1996) 313

Book Review
Rheology: Principles, Measurements and Applications
by ChristopherW. Macosko,published
by VCHPublishers,Weinheim,
Germany,550 pp., f66.00. ISBN l-56081-579-5.

Chris Macosko is at the department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota
and for many years has enjoyed and deserved a high reputation in rheology circles. Although he alone is referred to on
the cover as the author, in fact five of the chapters are written
by or with other people. Among them is Jan Mewis of Leuven
known to many in the particle technology community.
When I was asked to review this book, clearly I was not
being asked to comment on its usefulness to rheologists but
to those working in the field of particle and powder technology and this I shall try to do, although at the same time I must
say that as a rheologist, who for many years has worked
alongside those working with (dryish) powders, I have really
enjoyed reading this book.
Although there are other books which serve as an introduction to rheology, this book serves as a thorough introduction to the subject with plenty of examples. The book begins
(Part I) with the necessary theory needed to handle very
viscoelastic liquids, usually of the polymeric kind. Then follows (Part II) a good review of rheometric science, including

Elsevier Science S.A.

a very good chapter on extensional flow measurements. It

ends with an interesting chapter on Rheooptics and Flow
Birefringence by Timothy Lodge. For those interested in
instrument design, there is a chapter on the subject that also
deals with the basic principles of measurement and data analysis. This is of interest to anyone imposing a stress or strain
on a sample and measuring the response and trying to relate
this to some basic physical property of the material, be it
liquid or powder.
The chapter that will be of greatest interest to those working
with particulate systems is that on Suspension Rheology,
supplied with the help of Jan Mewis. In dealing with these
systems, they move from dilute systems of non-interacting
spheres to concentrated systems of highly interacting suspensions with strong colloidal forces present which can lead to
various degrees of flocculation.
So, if you need a general rheology book with a good chapter
on suspension rheology - buy this book.
ProfessorHoward A. Barnes
UnileverResearch
Port Sunlight Laboratory
Quarry Road East
Bebington, Wirral M3 UW
UK