Experimental validation of steady shear and dynamic viscosity relation for yield stress fluids

A common problem when studying yield stress fluids under steady shear in rotating rheometry is that of sample fracture. It is therefore preferable to work with oscillating shear, where fracture is limited. Doraiswamy et al. (1991) proposed a model for yield stress fluids that predicts the relation: η*(γmω) = η(y) between the viscosity in steady shear and the complex viscosity in dynamic shear. The present study validates this relation experimentally with both controlled stress and controlled strain, and demonstrates its limitations. Three yield stress fluids were used: a lubricating grease with lithium based soap, a thixotropic dispersion of colloidal silica in a polymer solution and a non-thixotropic aqueous gel.