Volume 14, Issue 3

The linear viscoelastic regions (L.V.R.) of suspensions of zirconium oxide particles were determined and characterized through the so-called "critical parameters". These are the values of shear-stress and strain at the crossover between the linear and the non-linear viscoelastic responses. From these magnitudes, the cohesive energy between the particles is calculated as a function of volume fraction of solids and at different electrolyte concentrations. The oscillatory measurements were carried out using a constant-stress rheometer at a fixed frequency of 1 Hz and increasing shear-stress. The suspensions cover a volume fraction range between 3% - 25% with electrolyte (sodium chloride) concentrations of 10-1 M, 10 −2 M, 10 −3 M and 10 −5 M. Two different kinds of ZrO 2 particles were used: commercially obtained -with no defined geometry- and spheres synthesized by us following the method described by Aiken, Hsu and Matijevic [1].

The steady and dynamic shear viscosity of fish muscle protein paste obtained from Alaska pollock surimi at 95%, 90%, 85%, 80%, and 75% of moisture contents were measured in the temperature range of 5°C to 20°C. To estimate the steady shear viscosity at high shear rate from dynamic shear viscosity, the modified Cox-Merz rule was applied by introducing a frequency shift factor. The concentration dependence of zero-shear viscosity showed power-law dependence with an exponent of 3.5, and the universal behavior of viscosity at different protein concentrations was observed by a introducing reduced variables. The Carreau model was applied to describe the shear- thinning behavior of the surimi paste, and the model parameters estimated empirically showed moisture content dependence. The viscous flow behavior was independent of temperature (5°C to 20°C), and addition of starch decreased the flow index and viscosity of the paste, compared to the pure surimi paste.

A detailed analysis of the dynamic flow properties of chitosan in solution at different temperatures (25 - 45°C), chitosan concentration (0.5% - 2.0%), solvent type (acetic, lactic, and hydrochloric acid), and ionic strength (0 and 0.2M NaCl) has been undertaken. The storage modulus, G’, loss modulus, G’’ and complex viscosity, η* have been determined over a wide range of frequencies and the results are presented using master curves. For the conditions studied, at low frequencies chitosan solutions show a constant complex viscosity which decreases as frequency increases. Likewise, storage modulus, G’ and loss modulus, G’’ increase as frequency increases with G’’ being always greater than G’ (η’ > η’’) indicating that viscous effects are more important than elastic effects. For modelling the oscillatory-shear results we used the generalized Maxwell model. Two empirical equations were used to correlate the data: Cox-Merz rule for viscosity and Laun's rule for primary normal stress difference. Both relations were found to represent our data for the experimental conditions studied.