Issue 3, 2015

Rheometry-on-a-chip: measuring the relaxation time of a viscoelastic liquid through particle migration in microchannel flows

Abstract

A novel method to estimate the relaxation time of viscoelastic fluids, down to milliseconds, is here proposed. The adopted technique is based on the particle migration phenomenon occurring when the suspending viscoelastic fluid flows in microfluidic channels. The method is applied to measure the fluid relaxation times of two water–glycerol polymer solutions in an ample range of concentrations. A remarkable improvement in the accuracy of the measure of the relaxation time is found, as compared with experimental data obtained from shear or elongational experiments available in the literature. Good agreement with available theoretical predictions is also found. The proposed method is reliable, handy and does not need a calibration curve, opening an effective way to measure relaxation times of viscoelastic fluids otherwise not easily detectable by conventional techniques.

Graphical abstract: Rheometry-on-a-chip: measuring the relaxation time of a viscoelastic liquid through particle migration in microchannel flows

Associated articles

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Oct 2014
Accepted
14 Nov 2014
First published
14 Nov 2014

Lab Chip, 2015,15, 783-792

Author version available

Rheometry-on-a-chip: measuring the relaxation time of a viscoelastic liquid through particle migration in microchannel flows

F. Del Giudice, G. D'Avino, F. Greco, I. De Santo, P. A. Netti and P. L. Maffettone, Lab Chip, 2015, 15, 783 DOI: 10.1039/C4LC01157K

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