Analysis MethodOn the wall slip phenomenon of elastomers in oscillatory shear measurements using parallel-plate rotational rheometry: II. Influence of experimental conditions

The use of parallel-plate rotational rheometry to characterize ex situ pre-prepared samples of rubber-like polymers is motivated by, for example, the investigation of magneto-rheological elastomers. When exceeding a critical excitation amplitude in oscillatory shear experiments, these elastomeric samples are prone to slip at the sample-plate contact interface. This phenomenon, known as wall slip, starts to occur at the sample's outer rim and leads to an imperfect force transfer onto the sample. This results in a systematic error of measured rheological material quantities.A thorough investigation is presented to reveal how this phenomenon is affected by selected experimental conditions, namely the static axial preload and measuring frequency. For this purpose disc-shaped samples composed of an unfilled silicone rubber are prepared by casting and examined by means of a controlled stress rotational rheometer equipped with a serrated rotor configuration.The oscillatory strain sweep experiments suggest that wall slip, exclusively present at the serrated rotor surface, is significantly influenced by the static preload. In contrast, only a slight frequency dependence is observed within the examined experimental conditions.Further insights into the wall slip mechanism were attained by two novel methodologies. It is shown that it is possible to produce a master curve for the various applied preloads. This demonstrates that the physical mechanism behind wall slip is independent of the axial force. Furthermore, we derive an empirical model for the criterion governing the onset of wall slip. This links the critical stress at which wall slip is initiated to the static friction condition and geometrical aspects of the rotor configuration. From this it is anticipated that the conditions for reliable experiments involving ex situ pre-prepared samples composed of low damping elastomers can, in the future, be estimated a priori.