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We present new dynamic rheological tests of human blood that motivate an improved model for the thixotropic shear rheology of human blood. Unidirectional large amplitude oscillatory shear (UD-LAOS) is proposed as a dynamic test relevant for understanding in vivo arterial pulsatile blood flow, and data are presented for two healthy donors studied previously using more traditional steady and step-rate experiments. The model analyzes the overall extra stress of the system in two components. A thixotropic component is represented by a structure-kinetics model coupled with a stress expression containing both viscoelastic and thixotropic elements to account for the presence of linear aggregates of red blood cells, known as rouleaux, which form at low shear rates. Another component is viscoelastic, described through an extend White–Metzner approach. It corresponds to the stresses that arise due to the isolated red blood cells, which deform at high shear rates. The combined model is fit to experimental steady shear and UD-LAOS data for two healthy donors and is subsequently used to predict the stress response of the blood sample to UD-LAOS experiments over a broad range of strain amplitudes and frequencies. Comparison to the previous models for transient blood rheology shows a significantly improved fit over a range of physiologically relevant flow conditions. In addition, this analysis demonstrates the usefulness of UD-LAOS tests with regards to understanding the microstructural evolution in blood under transient flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rheological characterization of a model, nearly ideal thixotropic carbon black suspension first proposed by Dullaert and Mewis (JNNFM 139: 21-30, 2006) is extended to include large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) flow, shear flow reversal, and unidirectional LAOS flow (UD-LAOS). We show how this broader data set is useful for validating and improving constitutive models of thixotropy. We apply this new data to further test a recently developed structure-kinetics model, the Modified Delaware Thixotropy Model (Armstrong et al., J Rheol. 60: 433-450, 2016a), as well as to better understand the microstructural basis and validity of strain-rate superposition methods proposed for soft solids. This comparison identifies the limitations of models based on a scalar description of microstructure, which cannot fully capture the reversal of flow directionality inherent in LAOS flow. Further, we use the model to identify a possible microstructural justification for the hypothesized technique of strain-rate frequency superposition in soft solids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stable dispersion of silica nanoparticles in a common ionic liquid [C4mim][BF4] that exhibits significant shear thickening is formulated by controlling the strength of hydrogen bonding between the nanoparticle surface and the anion of [C4mim][BF4]. Colloidal stability is demonstrated to be due to the formation of solvation layers, the properties of which are determined by scattering measurements. Timetemperature superposition measurements and the onset of yielding behavior in steady shear indicate the increase of particle-particle attraction and loss of stability of colloidal dispersions above 30 °C. Small angle neutron scattering and dynamic light scattering measurements confirm the reduction in solvation layering at elevated temperatures, leading to a transition from stable dispersion to unstable, attractive gel with increasing temperature (i.e., an inverse melting transition). It is demonstrated how controlling specific surface-anion interactions through chemical functionality can be used to formulate nanoparticle dispersions in ionic liquids with specific rheological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we assess the capability of two thermodynamically consistent, microstructure-based models to predict the rheology and microstructure of a model wormlike micellar surfactant solution known to exhibit shear banding undergoing transient simple shear and large amplitude oscillatory shear deformations in a cylindrical Couette rheometer. The microstructure of the surfactant solution was simultaneously measured during the rheometric tests using small angle neutron scattering and this data is used along with the bulk rheometry to critically evaluate the models. The first model is a new, two-species model specifically developed for wormlike micelles, whereas the second model is the well-known Giesekus model with solvent and diffusion. The new model accounts for the microstructural dynamics including flow-induced micellar breakage and recombination, which is shown to be necessary to predict some of the measured rheology and microstructure. More species should be included to improve the quantitative comparison with experiments, as well as nonlinear relaxation, as judged by the success of the Giesekus model to represent certain features of the time-dependent data. More experimental research is needed to validate the role of flow-induced breakage in the nonlinear rheology of wormlike micellar surfactant solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rheological behavior and microstructure of branched, cationic wormlike micellar (WLM) solutions of 40 mM erucyl bis(hydroxyethyl)methylammonium chloride (EHAC) are studied as a function of added salt (sodium salicylate) concentration, temperature, and shear rate via Rheosmall-angle light scattering (Rheo-SALS). These WLM solutions exhibit shear-enhanced concentration fluctuations leading to shear-induced phase separation (SIPS), manifested as visual turbidity under shear and the appearance of a characteristic 'butterfly' scattering pattern in Rheo-SALS experiments. Flow kinematics measurements in a Couette geometry are used to determine the relationship between SIPS and shear banding, i.e., the splitting of the flow into shear bands with different local shear rates. Modeling using the Giesekus constitutive equation aids in discrimination between banding and nonbanding solutions. The combination of Rheo-SALS, dynamic rheology, velocimetry, and constitutive equation modeling allows detailed exploration of the relationship between SIPS, shear banding, fluid microstructure, and the equilibrium phase behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shear rheology of a model wormlike micellar solution exhibits moderate shear thinning and curved flow velocity profiles without discontinuity (nonbanding case). The shear rheology and the flow kinematics are analyzed within the framework of the Giesekus constitutive equation. Macroscopically, the steady state flow curve of the solution exhibits shear thinning with a shear exponent <1 without hysteresis, indicative of a sample that does not shear band. The microstructure of the micellar network is probed by the combination of dynamic rheology, rheo-optics, and SANS. Flow kinematics in a Couette geometry are measured by particle tracking velocimetry and found to be consistent with predictions of the Giesekus constitutive equation fit to the bulk shear rheology. 1-2 plane SANS measurements of the segmental alignment under shear are also found to be in agreement with predictions of the constitutive equation, providing a coherent picture of the mechanisms by which wormlike micelles flow and shear thin. The degree of segmental alignment is found to lag behind predictions of the model, which is postulated to be a consequence of the long, branched topology of the wormlike micelles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stable dispersion of silica nanoparticles in a common ionic liquid [C4mim][BF4] that exhibits significant shear thickening is formulated by controlling the strength of hydrogen bonding between the nanoparticle surface and the anion of [C4mim][BF4]. Colloidal stability is demonstrated to be due to the formation of solvation layers, the properties of which are determined by scattering measurements. Timetemperature superposition measurements and the onset of yielding behavior in steady shear indicate the increase of particle-particle attraction and loss of stability of colloidal dispersions above 30 °C. Small angle neutron scattering and dynamic light scattering measurements confirm the reduction in solvation layering at elevated temperatures, leading to a transition from stable dispersion to unstable, attractive gel with increasing temperature (i.e., an inverse melting transition). It is demonstrated how controlling specific surface-anion interactions through chemical functionality can be used to formulate nanoparticle dispersions in ionic liquids with specific rheological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present direct measurements of the evolution of the segmental-level microstructure of a stable shear-banding polymerlike micelle solution during flow startup and cessation in the plane of flow. These measurements provide a definitive, quantitative microstructural understanding of the stages observed during flow startup: an initial elastic response with limited alignment that yields with a large stress overshoot to a homogeneous flow with associated micellar alignment that persists for approximately three relaxation times. This transient is followed by a shear (kink) band formation with a flow-aligned low-viscosity band that exhibits shear-induced concentration fluctuations and coexists with a nearly isotropic band of homogenous, highly viscoelastic micellar solution. Stable, steady banding flow is achieved only after approximately two reptation times. Flow cessation from this shear-banded state is also found to be nontrivial, exhibiting an initial fast relaxation with only minor structural relaxation, followed by a slower relaxation of the aligned micellar fluid with the equilibrium fluid's characteristic relaxation time. These measurements resolve a controversy in the literature surrounding the mechanism of shear banding in entangled wormlike micelles and, by means of comparison to existing literature, provide further insights into the mechanisms driving shear-banding instabilities in related systems. The methods and instrumentation described should find broad use in exploring complex fluid rheology and testing microstructure-based constitutive equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]