The High Pressure Rheology of Mixtures

Abstract

The Newtonian mixing rules for several binary systems have been experimentally investigated. Some systems show non-ideal mixing response and for some systems the non-ideal response is pressure-dependent, yielding an opportunity for manipulation of the pressure-viscosity behavior to advantage. The mixing of differing molecular weight “straight cuts” can produce very different pressure-viscosity response. This behavior underscores the difficulty in predicting the pressure-viscosity coefficient based upon chemical structure and ambient viscosity since the molecular weight distribution is also important, but it also provides another opportunity to control the high-pressure response by blending. The first experimental observation of double shear-thinning within a single flow curve is reported. Blending then provides the capability of adjusting not only the Newtonian viscosity but also the non-Newtonian shear-thinning response as well.