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In modern intensive care a comprehensive solution for monitoring the coagulation status or blood clotting problems is currently not available, because fast reliable detection of all bleeding-based disorders (coagulation, fibrinolysis, platelet function) cannot be conducted with a single medical device. This situation calls for a comprehensive technical solution, which we think possible to be solved with a rheological piezo-based system. Rheological measurements provide valuable information on the viscoelastic properties of complex fluids. Here, we compared the performance of a commercially available rheological industrial device using shear stress (Kinexus Pro, Malvern) with that of a piezo-based research measuring system (piezoelectric axial vibrator, PAV) applying squeeze flow to sample fluids. Comparative measurements using different xanthan concentrations (0.1 to 5%) were carried out at 25 and 37 °C. At higher concentrations (1, 2, and 5%), there was an overlapping frequency range and a consistent range of the viscous and elastic shear viscosity for both systems, allowing direct comparisons. Specifically the lower concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5% xanthan could be used to assess the possibility of both systems to measure blood coagulation, as those concentrations correspond approximately to the viscosity of human blood. Measurement of blood coagulation was then also tested with the PAV. Measurement repeatability was assessed performing blood coagulation measurements over time at different frequencies (10, 100, 300, and 1000 Hz). The middle frequencies of 100 and 300 Hz provided the most repeatable results for blood. Afterwards the activated clotting time (ACT) was performed with PAV at 300 Hz. The piezo-based measuring system was able to differentiate between various heparin blood concentrations (1, 2, and 3 IU/ml). In this study the reliability, repeatability and limitations of the piezo system were examined. Our initial results showed that the piezo system can be used to assess blood coagulation, but further studies are necessary to confirm these promising results. The aim of a fast, small and reliable point-of-care system may be possible with this type of rheological device.

This paper investigates the influence of limestone crushed sand dust (LCSD) on rheological properties of cement mortar based on crushed sand (CS) with different mineralogical nature (limestone and siliceous). A LCSD with a specific surface BET of 1470 m2/kg was used at different content replacement by mass of sand (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 %). The water-cement ratio (W/C) and the cement content were kept constant for all mixes. The results show that the slump decreased as well as the flow time, the yield stress and the viscosity of mortar increased with the increase in LCSD content. Thus, the mortar based on limestone crushed sand (LS) has a low loss of rheological properties compared with a mortar based on siliceous crushed sand (SS). Yet, for 0 % of LCSD, it was found that the rheological properties are nearly equal for both CSs. The use of superplasticizer (Sp) significantly improves the workability and rheological properties. However, the rheological behavior of mortar has been strongly affected by increasing the volume concentration of CS whereas the effect of CS on fresh mortar presents significantly greater disadvantages compared with rolled sand (RS).

In this paper we investigate the rheological complex behavior of a vase of Fergoug dam which is located in the region Perregaux (Western Algeria) as a function of aging time, shear rate, and temperature. The modified Herschel-Bulkley model is used to fit the stationary flow curves of vase as a function of aging time and the generalized model of Kelvin-Voigt is successfully applied to fit the creep and recovery data and to analyze the viscoelastic properties of vase as a function of temperature. Finally the thixotropic behavior studied at constant temperature is analyzed by using the Herschel-Bulkley model including a structural parameter in order to account for time dependent effect. It is demonstrated that the increase in shear rate induces a restructuring and reorganization of the particles of the vase at the microstructural level.

We study the effect of wall slip on the measured values of the yield stress of magnetorheological (MR) fluids. For this aim we used a rheometer provided with parallel-plate geometries of two types, distinguished by having smooth or rough surfaces. We found that wall slip led to the underestimation of the yield stress when measuring geometries with smooth surfaces were used, and that this underestimation was more pronounced for the static than for the dynamic yield stress. Furthermore, we analysed the effect that both irreversible particle aggregation due to colloidal interactions and reversible magnetic fieldinduced particle aggregation had on the underestimation provoked by wall slip. We found that the higher the degree of aggregation the stronger the underestimation of the yield stress. At low intensity of the applied magnetic field irreversible particle aggregation was dominant and, thus, the underestimation of the yield stress was almost negligible for well-dispersed MR fluids, whereas it was rather pronounced for MR fluids suffering from irreversible aggregation. As the magnetic field was increased the underestimation of the yield stress became significant even for the best dispersed MR fluid.