New D Clip Improves Viscosity Measurement Range

The new D chip, from RheoSense (USA) expands the measurement ranges offered by existing chips to high shear rate viscosity measurements.

Many industry processes involve very high shear rate deformation in material processing, shear rate easily exceeding 10,000 1/s (reciprocal second).  And the viscosity depends on shear rate for non-Newtonians.  However, measuring viscosity at high shear rates with conventional technology has been known to be extremely difficult and thus very limited to less than 1,000 1/s.

The new D chip allows viscosity measurement at shear rates as high as 1,000,000 1/s for low viscosity liquids.  The chip is also suitable for high viscosity liquid. 

For one application, Inkjet ink is known to experience extreme shearing as ink is ejected from a nozzle.  The shearing is estimated to exceed 1,000,000 1/s.  It has been questions whether ink viscosity measured at low shear rates represent the viscosity at high shear rates.