Rheometrical aspects of the viscoelastic dispersion of shear waves in gel-like mechanical networks

Abstract

A modified form of the Gross-Marvin ladder model is used to simulate gelation processes in which α, the viscoelastic stress relaxation exponent in the Gel Equation, can be varied in the range O< α<1. The model has been used to investigate the interdependence of the high- and low-frequency features of the evolving relaxation time spectra associated with the growth of discrete, mechanically self-similar nodal networks. Analysis of the growth of the networks in terms of their wavelengths reveals a fractal characteristic of the underlying gel microstructure. The results obtained may provide a viable rheometrical basis for examining the gel-like characteristics of pre-gel point viscoelastic liquid systems in terms of the Gel Equation but in the absence of a frequency independent loss tangent.