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Understanding the mechanics of fiber attrition during the extrusion process is highly important in predicting the strength of long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites. However, little work has been done to investigate the mechanics of fiber dispersion and its effects on fiber attrition. This study aims at investigating fiber dispersion in simple shear flows for long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic pellets. Depending on the fabrication process, fiber bundles display distinct levels of compaction within the pellets. Studies have shown that morphological differences can lead to differences in dispersion mechanics; therefore, using a Couette rheometer and a sliding plate rheometer, coated and pultruded pellets were subjected to simple shear deformation, and the amount of dispersion was quantified. Additionally, a new image-based analysis method is presented in this study to measure fiber dispersion for a multi-pellet-filled system. Results from the single-pellet dispersion study showed a small amount of correlation between the dimensionless morphological parameter and the dispersion measurement. Pultruded and coated pellets were both found to have similar dispersion rates in a multi-pellet system. However, pultruded pellets were found to have a higher dispersion value at all levels when compared with coated pellets in both dispersion studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the mechanics of fiber attrition during the extrusion process is highly important in predicting the strength of long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites. However, little work has been done to investigate the mechanics of fiber dispersion and its effects on fiber attrition. This study aims at investigating fiber dispersion in simple shear flows for long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic pellets. Depending on the fabrication process, fiber bundles display distinct levels of compaction within the pellets. Studies have shown that morphological differences can lead to differences in dispersion mechanics; therefore, using a Couette rheometer and a sliding plate rheometer, coated and pultruded pellets were subjected to simple shear deformation, and the amount of dispersion was quantified. Additionally, a new image-based analysis method is presented in this study to measure fiber dispersion for a multi-pellet-filled system. Results from the single-pellet dispersion study showed a small amount of correlation between the dimensionless morphological parameter and the dispersion measurement. Pultruded and coated pellets were both found to have similar dispersion rates in a multi-pellet system. However, pultruded pellets were found to have a higher dispersion value at all levels when compared with coated pellets in both dispersion studies.

The measurement and the investigation of the errors in a Couette rheometer have been a topic of considerable interest in many rheometric studies. In the present study, a more accurate predictor-corrector method based on CFD and the analytical solution of the problem is described. Comparing to the previous CFD-based method, in addition to considering the effect of the end parts, the presented correction factors also take into account the effect of the wide gap into a single coefficient. The correction factors are computed for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in wide and narrow gap rheometry. Results showed that the shear rate distribution across the gap is highly non-linear in non-Newtonian wide gap rheometry. Moreover, for very shear thinning fluid i.e. n < 0.4 in narrow gap rheometry, there is a need to apply correction factor to the calculated fluid properties. Comparing the presented CFD approach and the current approach, the correction factor can be enhanced up to 16% depending on the fluid behavior and the gap distance.

Highlights • The circular Couette flow of Herschel–Bulkley fluids is analysed. • The conditions under which the rates of strain share a common point are specified. • The errors when using apparent instead of true shear rates are highlighted. • The errors in the calculated material parameters are discussed. • The findings of the present work are demonstrated on experimental data. Abstract We analyse the circular Couette flow of Herschel–Bulkley fluids to investigate the validity of the assumption that the rate of strain distributions across the gap share a common point. It is demonstrated that this is true only with fully-yielded Bingham -plastic flow. In other cases, e.g., in partially-yielded Bingham-plastic flow or fully-yielded Herschel–Bulkley flow, the common point for the fully-yielded Bingham case provides a good approximation for determining material constants only if the gap is sufficiently small. We also revisit the important issue of determining material properties of viscoplastic fluids by using "true values" for the rate of strain and demonstrate that the material properties can be very different from those obtained using "apparent' values for the rate of strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Couette rheometry, most of the current flow-curve recovery algorithms require the explicit numerical differentiation of the measured angular velocity data. The exceptions and popular choices, because it avoids the need for a numerical differentiation, are the parallel plate approximation (cf. Bird et al. [1], Table 10.2-1) and the simplest of the formulas given in Krieger and Elrod [2]. However, their applicability is limited to narrow gap rheometer data. In this paper, equally simple formulas are presented which are exact for Newtonian fluids, do not involve a numerical differentiation and are consistently more accurate than the simple formulas mentioned above. They are based on a generalization of the Euler-Maclaurin sum formula solution of the Couette viscometry equation given in Krieger and Elrod. As well as illustrating the improved accuracy for the recovery of flow-curves for fluids with and without a yield-stress, details about more general and accurate formulas for flow-curve recovery from Couette rheometry data are given. The situation for the recovery of flow-curves from wide gap rheometery measurements is also discussed.

DuPont's perfluoropolyether oil Krytox $$^{\textregistered }$$ GPL 102 is a promising candidate for the high-temperature, high-pressure Deepwater viscosity standard (DVS). The preferred DVS is a thermally stable liquid that exhibits a viscosity of roughly 20 $$\hbox {mPa} \cdot \hbox {s}$$ at 533 K and 241 MPa; a viscosity value representative of light oils found in ultra-deep formations beneath the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A windowed rolling-ball viscometer designed by our team is used to determine the Krytox $$^{\textregistered }$$ GPL 102 viscosity at pressures to 245 MPa and temperatures of 311 K, 372 K, and 533 K. At 533 K and 243 MPa, the Krytox $$^{\textregistered }$$ GPL 102 viscosity is $$(27.2 \pm 1.3)\,\hbox {mPa} \cdot \hbox {s}$$ . The rolling-ball viscometer viscosity results for Krytox $$^{\textregistered }$$ GPL 102 are correlated with an empirical 10-parameter surface fitting function that yields an MAPD of 3.9 %. A Couette rheometer is also used to measure the Krytox $$^{\textregistered }$$ GPL 102 viscosity, yielding a value of $$(26.2 \pm 1)\,\hbox {mPa} \cdot \hbox {s}$$ at 533 K and 241 MPa. The results of this exploratory study suggest that Krytox $$^{\textregistered }\, \hbox {GPL}$$ 102 is a promising candidate for the DVS, primarily because this fluoroether oil is thermally stable and exhibits a viscosity closer to the targeted value of 20 mPa $$\cdot $$ s at 533 K and 241 MPa than any other fluid reported to date. Nonetheless, further studies must be conducted by other researcher groups using various types of viscometers and rheometers on samples of Krytox GPL $$^{\textregistered }$$ 102 from the same lot to further establish the properties of Krytox GPL $$^{\textregistered }$$ 102. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple method for correction of the wall-slip effect in a Couette rheometer was derived. The method requires only two series of measurements (two flow curves) performed in two measuring sets of any dimensions, and therefore it may be applied for the results obtained in each rheometer with a standard cup and bob set. The method was checked for experimental data and also verified theoretically for a hypothetical liquid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]