<p> The inter/intramolecular interactions and associations between constituents determine the microstructure of food and its response to mechanical deformation and flow. The characterization of food rheology enables the design of efficient processing equipment, production of high-quality, stable end products, prediction of textural and sensorial attributes, and assurance of consumer acceptability. Foods are subjected to rapid and large deformations during processing operations and consumption. Dynamic oscillatory shear tests are carried out by subjecting food to a sinusoidal deformation (or stress) and probing the mechanical stress (or strain) and recording the response as a function of time. In the SAOS region, the mechanical response is in the form of a perfect sinusoidal curve and interpretation is straightforward as expected from a linear model. On the other hand, LAOS response requires complex mathematical relations to extract meaningful rheological parameters. In this dissertation, Fourier Transform-Chebyshev Decomposition (FTC) and Sequence of Physical Processes (SPP) methods were utilized to quantify the LAOS response of selected food materials. The objective of this study is to gain new insights into the nonlinear rheology and structural architecture of food materials. To offer insights into the microstructure–rheology relations, rheological measurements were accompanied by various techniques probing chemical interactions (FTIR), imaging (Cryo-SEM, SEM), quantitative network analysis, and molecular size (SDS-PAGE). This dissertation showed that LAOS rheology is highly correlated with the network structure of food shown by the quantitative network analysis utilizing SEM images. It is a powerful tool to detect the effect of small molecules on the nonlinear rheology of food (HMW-LMW glutenin ratio, gliadin for dough, fat content in yogurt, and amylopectin/amylose ratio of starch in a suspension). Nonlinear parameters were sensitive to structural changes occurring in dough structure during processing conditions including aging at room and elevated temperatures. Lastly, the SPP method enabling time-resolved interpretation of nonlinear rheology provided detailed transient microstructural interpretations whereas the FTC method gave static measures at specific strains in an oscillation cycle. Thus, nonlinear rheology of doughs with various gluten subfractions in MAOS and LAOS regions as well as shear thickening characteristic of starch suspensions with changing amylopectin/amylose ratio interpreted by the SPP method gave more sensitive results than the FTC method. The application of fundamental knowledge from this work can be a guide to evaluating the architecture and nonlinear rheology of food for the assurance of consumer acceptancy and the fabrication of efficient machinery by building more accurate mechanical models of complex food systems. </p>

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<p dir="ltr">The ability to predict and manipulate how a particulate material will flow in a process is challenging for industry and researchers alike. This dissertation presents the results of a model-directed, experimental approach using a concentric cylinder rheometer titled along an axis to enable continuous chute flow of granular media. Experiments were performed using draining flows for constant and oscillatory applied shear rates. Multiple flow and stress sensors were used to investigate the interaction of mass holdup, shear rate, specific torque, particle velocity, discharge mass flow rate, and wall pressure. Depending on the flow configuration, linear ranges were observed wherein the specific torque remained steady during draining. This finding enabled systematic testing of flow behavior as a function of dimensionless shear rates. Results suggest changes in the specific torque, wall slip, and outflow variance occur with the transition from the quasi-static to dense-inertial flow regimes. A pump-curve analogy was also identified for the relationship between the outlet mass flow rate and the specific power relationship for the constant shear rate experiments. Oscillatory shear rate experiments show a significant influence of the phase shift between the applied shear rate and the specific torque. Adding an asperity to the rotor revealed rate-dependent patterns in bulk flow and force chain dynamics. Overall, the study offers valuable insights into the effects of shear rate and boundary conditions on dense granular flows. The effects of particle characteristics (e.g., size and shape distributions, friction, cohesivity) and material properties (e.g., density, modulus) remain topics for future work. </p>

The structure and dynamics of the smectic-A liquid crystal 8CB (4 cyano-4 octylbiphenyl) when sheared and confined to mesoscale gaps (with crossed cylindrical geometry and mica confining surfaces) were studied using a Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA). Triangular shear patterns with frequencies of 0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 10 Hz, and amplitudes of 62.5 nm, 625 nm and 6.25 m were applied to samples at gap sizes of 0.5 and 5.0 m. The study was performed at room temperature (20.5C) and at two higher temperatures (22C and 27C). In order to minimize the thermal fluctuations within the test chamber and hence to allow for the rapid re-initialization of test runs, the SFA was modified to allow for quick, precise and remote control of the confining surfaces. The procedure maximized the number of tests that could be undertaken with a single pair of surfaces so that a single gap geometry could be maintained for the duration of the test run. In order to run the SFA remotely, scripts written with a commercial software package, LabVIEW, were used to control of the SFA components, its FECO-monitoring camera and all its peripheral electronic equipment as well. Samples were agitated to disrupt any shear-induced liquid crystal domain alignment from previous testing following each shear test, and methodologies were developed to ascertain the extent of confinement quickly and remotely following agitation. Separate methods were developed for gap sizes at each extreme of the mesoscale regime, where the transition from bulklike structure and dynamics to nano-confinement occurs (between 1 and 10 microns for smectic-A 8CB). The results revealed that the greater amplitude-gap aspect ratio and surface-to-domain contact associated with smaller gaps facilitated reorientation of the domains in the shear direction. Evidence was also presented of domains at the higher end or outside of the mesoscale regime that, while straining and accreting, were unable to reorient and thereby led to an overall increase of viscoelastic response. The effective viscosity was found to obey a simple power law with respect to shear rate, , and the flow behaviour indices, n, slightly in excess of unity indicate shear thickening occurs with large enough shear amplitude, and that the viscosity reached a plateau near unity over shear rates of 0.005 to 500 s-1 within the mesoscale regime. Different K and n values were observed depending on the shear amplitude used. Unlike bulk smectic 8CB, whose domains do not align well in the shear direction with large shear-strain amplitude, at mesoscale levels of confinement large amplitude shearing (up to 12.5 shear strain amplitude) was found to be very effective at aligning domains. In general domain reorientation is found to be much more rapid within the mesoscale regime than has been reported in bulk. Aggressive shearing was found to result in a complete drop in viscoelastic response within seconds, while gentler shearing is found to produce a very gradual increase that persists for more than six hours, with individual shear periods exhibiting frequent and significant deviations from the expected smooth shear path that may be a product of discrete domain reorientations. From these findings, certain traits of the smectic 8CB domain structures under mesoscale confinement were deduced, including how they respond to shear depending on the level of confinement, and how their reorientation due to shear varies not only with shear rate but also independently with shear amplitude. An equation describing the viscosity change as a function of both shear rate and shear amplitude is proposed. The shear amplitude dependence introduces the notion of shearing beyond the proposed smectic 8CB “viscoelastic limit”, which was shown to exhibit behaviour in accordance with Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) techniques developed for Fourier Transform rheology. The findings provided an understanding of the behavioural changes that occur as one reduces the level of confinement of smectic materials from bulk to nanoconfinement.

The structure and dynamics of the smectic-A liquid crystal 8CB (4 cyano-4 octylbiphenyl) when sheared and confined to mesoscale gaps (with crossed cylindrical geometry and mica confining surfaces) were studied using a Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA). Triangular shear patterns with frequencies of 0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 10 Hz, and amplitudes of 62.5 nm, 625 nm and 6.25 m were applied to samples at gap sizes of 0.5 and 5.0 m. The study was performed at room temperature (20.5C) and at two higher temperatures (22C and 27C). In order to minimize the thermal fluctuations within the test chamber and hence to allow for the rapid re-initialization of test runs, the SFA was modified to allow for quick, precise and remote control of the confining surfaces. The procedure maximized the number of tests that could be undertaken with a single pair of surfaces so that a single gap geometry could be maintained for the duration of the test run. In order to run the SFA remotely, scripts written with a commercial software package, LabVIEW, were used to control of the SFA components, its FECO-monitoring camera and all its peripheral electronic equipment as well. Samples were agitated to disrupt any shear-induced liquid crystal domain alignment from previous testing following each shear test, and methodologies were developed to ascertain the extent of confinement quickly and remotely following agitation. Separate methods were developed for gap sizes at each extreme of the mesoscale regime, where the transition from bulklike structure and dynamics to nano-confinement occurs (between 1 and 10 microns for smectic-A 8CB). The results revealed that the greater amplitude-gap aspect ratio and surface-to-domain contact associated with smaller gaps facilitated reorientation of the domains in the shear direction. Evidence was also presented of domains at the higher end or outside of the mesoscale regime that, while straining and accreting, were unable to reorient and thereby led to an overall increase of viscoelastic response. The effective viscosity was found to obey a simple power law with respect to shear rate, , and the flow behaviour indices, n, slightly in excess of unity indicate shear thickening occurs with large enough shear amplitude, and that the viscosity reached a plateau near unity over shear rates of 0.005 to 500 s-1 within the mesoscale regime. Different K and n values were observed depending on the shear amplitude used. Unlike bulk smectic 8CB, whose domains do not align well in the shear direction with large shear-strain amplitude, at mesoscale levels of confinement large amplitude shearing (up to 12.5 shear strain amplitude) was found to be very effective at aligning domains. In general domain reorientation is found to be much more rapid within the mesoscale regime than has been reported in bulk. Aggressive shearing was found to result in a complete drop in viscoelastic response within seconds, while gentler shearing is found to produce a very gradual increase that persists for more than six hours, with individual shear periods exhibiting frequent and significant deviations from the expected smooth shear path that may be a product of discrete domain reorientations. From these findings, certain traits of the smectic 8CB domain structures under mesoscale confinement were deduced, including how they respond to shear depending on the level of confinement, and how their reorientation due to shear varies not only with shear rate but also independently with shear amplitude. An equation describing the viscosity change as a function of both shear rate and shear amplitude is proposed. The shear amplitude dependence introduces the notion of shearing beyond the proposed smectic 8CB “viscoelastic limit”, which was shown to exhibit behaviour in accordance with Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) techniques developed for Fourier Transform rheology. The findings provided an understanding of the behavioural changes that occur as one reduces the level of confinement of smectic materials from bulk to nanoconfinement.

In dieser Dissertation wird das viskoplastische Schubverhalten eines magnetorheologischen Fluids (MRF) modelliert. Mithilfe eines phänomenologischen Modellierungsansatzes auf Basis nichtlinearer rheologischer Elemente können die gemessenen Fließkurven sowie Speicher- und Verlustmoduli abgebildet werden. Ein MRF ist ein Material mit fest-flüssig Übergang. Es besitzt von einem Magnetfeld abhängige Materialeigenschaften. Um diese beschreiben zu können, wird zunächst eine phänomenologische Stoffklassifizierung eingeführt. Auf deren Grundlage teilen sich Stoffe allgemein in Flüssigkeiten, Festkörper und Materialien mit fest-flüssig Übergang auf. Zur Beschreibung des Materialverhaltens von MRF werden drei viskoplastische Modelle formuliert und gegenübergestellt. Zur Identifikation der Materialparameter wird eine Identifikationsstrategie auf der Grundlage charakteristischer Punkte entwickelt. Charakteristische Punkte sind exklusive Punkte von Materialfunktionen, die analytisch beschrieben und ohne Weiteres experimentell ermittelt werden können. Analytische Ausdrücke für charakteristische Punkte der Speicher- und Verlustmoduli werden über das Analogieprinzip unter Verwendung von Lissajous Diagrammen abgeleitet. Infolgedessen können die Materialparameter durch das Auswerten algebraischer Zusammenhänge identifiziert werden, ohne nichtlineare Optimierungsverfahren anwenden zu müssen. Hierbei stellt die Fließspannung einen signifikanten Materialparameter dar. Deswegen werden die Standardverfahren zur Bestimmung der Fließspannung auf rheologische Modelle angewendet und bewertet.

Polymerní nanokompozity (PNCs) mají slibnou budoucnost jako lehké funkční materiály zpracovatelné aditivními výrobními technologiemi. Jejich rychlému rozšíření však brání silná závislost jejich užitných vlastností na prostorovém uspořádání nanočástic (NP). Schopnost řídit disperzi nanočástic je tak klíčovým předpokladem pro jejich uplatnění ve funkčních kompozitech. Tato práce zkoumá přípravu polymerních nanokompozitů v modelové sklotvorné polymerní matrici roztokovou metodou, technikou schopnou vytvářet prostorové uspořádání nanočástic řízené strukturními a kinetickými parametry přípravného procesu. Prezentované výsledky popisují rozdíly mezi změnami rheologického chování roztoku polystyrenu při oscilačním smyku s vysokou amplitudou (LAOS) vyvolanými nanočásticemi. Výsledky vedou k závěru, že vysoce-afinní OP-POSS nanočástice při nízkých koncentracích dobře interagují s PS a tvoří tuhé agregáty, zatímco nízko-afinní OM-POSS nanočástice za těchto podmínek neovlivňují deformační chování polymerních řetězců. Dále byla pozornost zaměřena na vliv použitého rozpouštědla na uspořádání nanočástic v SiO2/PMMA a SiO2/PS nanokompozitech, který je v literatuře prezentován jako parametr řídící prostorové uspořádání nanočástic v pevném stavu. Důraz byl kladen na kvalitativní rozdíly mezi „špatně dispergovanými“ shluky nanočástic, které byly na základě rheologie a strukturální analýzy (TEM, USAXS) identifikovány jako polymerními řetězci vázané nanočásticové klastry a dva typy agregátů, jeden termodynamického a druhý kinetického původu. Jednotlivé druhy agregátů se vyznačují odlišnými kinetikami vzniku a rozdílnými vlastnostmi jak mezi sebou, tak v porovnání s dispergovanými nanočásticemi. Pozorované typy disperze nanočástic byly kvantitativně posouzeny podle svých rheologických vlastností během roztokové přípravy, podle kterých byla vyhodnocena míra adsorpce polymeru na povrch nanočástic a atrakce ve vypuzeném objemu. Výsledky byly porovnány s teorií PRISM. Důležitost uspořádání nanočástic byla demonstrována na porovnání teplot skelných přechodů různých struktur při stejném chemickém složení.