The latest addition to Malvern Instruments' Inform series of white papers is called '10 ways to control rheology by changing particle properties'.
The Inform series of white papers is designed to provide advice on material characterisation issues.
Freely downloadable from the company's website, this new document guides the reader through some of the fundamental properties of dispersed systems and demonstrates how these affect rheology.
A variety of examples illustrates the effects on rheology of changing particle size, size distribution, shape and zeta potential, alone and in combination.
Many materials used today are disperse systems where one substance, often a particulate, is dispersed in another phase.
Examples are common in a variety of areas, such as adhesives, agrochemicals, cement, ceramics, colloids, cosmetics and personal care formulations, food and drink, mining and mineral slurries, paints, inks and surface coatings, pharmaceuticals and polymer systems.
The physical properties of the dispersed particles - average particle size, size distribution, zeta potential or the charge on the particles and particle shape - all influence bulk material properties such as rheology.
As a result, the rheology of a dispersed system can be controlled through the measurement and manipulation of key parameters.
