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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Rheology and design of yield-stress fluids

Abstract

dc:description

Yield-stress fluids are materials that transition from solid-like to fluid-like at a critical applied stress and are currently the most utilized rheological phenomenon. Yield-stress fluids have found use in drug delivery, food products, batteries, surface coatings, 3D printing materials, and many other applications. This rheological phenomenon can be achieved by a diverse range of microstructures including polymeric gels, colloidal glasses, and more. Rationally designing such rheologically complex materials requires the determination of the relationships between processing, structure, properties (rheology), and ultimately performance. This research is composed of distinct but interconnected experimental studies of these design relationships for yield-stress fluids. This work presents a paradigm for the design of rheologically-complex materials focused on the rheology-to-structure inverse problem for model yield-stress fluids which forms the basis for the subsequent studies that focus on a particular secondary property (extensibility), particular applications (direct-write 3D printing and performance magic), and appropriate processing to obtain a yield-stress fluid material. I generate a design space for material selection and design of extensible yield-stress fluids and introduce model materials with this important behavior. One model material is the subject of a case study on direct-write 3D printing; an emulsion with high extensibility is used to establish key property targets for direct-writable materials. Another study discusses the role of a yield stress and high extensibility in a resin used in performance magic, “Mystic Smoke”. The final study focuses on the connection between processing and rheology for a particular material, aqueous methylcellulose, and investigates the effects of dynamic conditions on the linear and nonlinear mechanical properties of gelling materials or yield-stress fluids.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph.D.
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Grantor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Year dc:date
2018

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Nelson, Arif Z.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Ewoldt, Randy H.
  • Schroeder, Charles M.
  • Nuzzo, Ralph G.
  • Sottos, Nancy R.

Subjects

dc:subject × 8

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Copyright 2018 Arif Nelson
Language dc:language
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101200
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/101200

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Base URL
www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Nelson, Arif Z.. Rheology and design of yield-stress fluids. Dissertation thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101200