RHEOLOGY OF CONCENTRATED SUSPENSIONS

The viscoelastic properties of a flocculated dispersion, at small or slow deformations, are explained in terms of a network model. If the network consists of single-particle chains the modulus and strength are proportional to the first power of the volume fraction and weakly dependent on the particle size. More realistic results are now obtained by constructing a network in which the chains consist of preformed aggregates. In several systems, the state of aggregation is found to depend on volume fraction and particle size only through the total particle concentration. © 1979.