Hele-Shaw rheometry

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a novel approach to determine the flow behavior index of a power-law fluid by means of a microfluidic device. The concept of this method is based on a mathematical analysis by Aronsson and Janfalk [Eur. J. Appl. Math. 3, 343–366 (1992)] of Hele-Shaw flow of power-law liquids. We implement this approach by driving a non-Newtonian fluid through a glass microfluidic chip with a 100:1 contraction. The flow in this chip satisfies the Hele-Shaw flow conditions in most of the device. Two conjugate p-Laplace equations describe the pressure and stream function in such flows. These equations depend on the flow behavior index, n. Therefore, by fitting the p-Laplace equation to the velocity field obtained from a micro particle image velocimetry measurement of the flow, the flow behavior index of the fluid in the chip can be determined. Because in practice, fluids rarely show perfectly inelastic power-law behavior, conditions under which the assumption of inelastic flow is valid were derived by analyzing Hele-Shaw flow of an Oldroyd-B fluid. The concept was tested using three different classes of model fluids, a Newtonian fluid, an inelastic power-law fluid, and a Boger fluid. In all three cases, satisfactory results were obtained, with values of n deviating at most 4% from values measured using conventional rheometry. The method presented here is expected to be potentially useful in online quality control in, for example, polymer or food processing.