Test EquipmentHigh strain rate rheological characterization of low viscosity fluids

Capillary rheometry is the simplest and most popular system to measure the viscosity of fluids at high shear rates and, because of this, it is normally used to simulate industrial processes in the polymer processing industry. Thus, traditionally the rheometers have been equipped with high-pressure transducers, which means that they present some limitations in the characterization for low viscosity (lower than O(101) Pa s) fluids.The aim of this work is to present an accessory to a laboratory capillary rheometer in order to allow for low viscosity fluids to be tested. This is a simple adaptation that works as a extension of the rheometer and contains a new low-pressure transducer with a pressure range of 0-120 Psi. The concept is introduced and validated with Newtonian liquids and initial results are presented for non-Newtonian fluids, namely emulsion-based and micro suspension-based PVC plastisols for textile coating.