A combined rheometer and image analyser for characterization of suspensions and aggregates in a shear field

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Abstract
We describe a novel instrument that allows image analysis to be performed on the contents of a conventional concentric cylinder constant stress rheometer. This technique allows us to investigate the effect of shear on a range of suspension systems and to correlate structural changes in the suspensions with their rheological properties. In particular we have sought to measure the fractal properties of aggregated materials with this instrument. We illustrate the application of this technique by measurements of size and fractal dimension of suspensions of micronized lactose in chlorofluorocarbon liquids, and by a study of the alignment of an anisotropic crystalline suspension in a shear field.