Abstract
This paper presents a novel, in-line Electrical Resistance Rheometry (ERR) technique which is able to obtain the rheological information of process fluids, in-situ, based on electrical resistance sensing. By cross-correlating fluctuations of computed conductivity pixels across and along a pipe, using non-invasive microelectrical tomography sensors, rheometric data is obtained through the direct measurement of the radial velocity profile. A range of simple, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, have been examined with the obtained velocity profiles independently validated using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV); results from both ERR and PIV techniques are in excellent agreement. Comparison of the rheological parameters obtained from ERR with off-line rheology measurements demonstrated that ERR was able to perform with an accuracy of 98% for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. The ERR technique presented offers new capabilities of true in-situ analysis of fluids relevant to formulated products and in-pipe spatial and temporal analyses afford the simultaneous interrogation of localised and global mixing behaviour.
Highlights
The rheological properties of a fluid system are critical in chemical and physical processing, since they govern both in-process efficiency and final product quality
This paper presents a novel, in-line Electrical Resistance Rheometry (ERR) technique which is able to obtain rheological information on process fluids, in-situ, based on electrical resistance sensing
The velocity profiles within this figure are acquired from the cross-correlation of a single conductivity perturbation passing through the sensor; these perturbations typically have a duration of 20 seconds From the obtained velocity profiles, it is evident that the Newtonian glycerol solutions observe the conventional parabolic velocity profile of laminar pipe flow, which is reflected in both fitted profiles, Levenberg-Marquadt, Figures 5a and 5b, and gradient-based techniques and raw data
Summary
The rheological properties of a fluid system are critical in chemical and physical processing, since they govern both in-process efficiency and final product quality. The measurement of such properties is conducted off-line with careful sampling and removal from the product stream. The fluid rheology obtained from off-line rheometry is often considered, with assumptions, as applicable to flows in real processes. This approach is in the majority unsatisfactory since off-line measurements afford a retrospective characterisation of the sample structure which may not be representative of structure as a function of the time-shear history received during processing. Since in-line rheometer measurements are conducted within the process flow environment, they possess the capability to elevate rheometry from a quality control tool at process end-point to one which is able to control and optimise processes. Since in-line rheometer measurements are conducted within the process flow environment, they possess the capability to elevate rheometry from a quality control tool at process end-point to one which is able to control and optimise processes. Rides et al (2011) suggested in-line techniques may afford opportunities for new product development
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