Thixotropic Loop Research Articles

Studies on allantoin topical formulations: in vitro drug release studies and rheological characteristics

The extent and rate of release of active substances from topical products must be sufficient to ensure their effectiveness, which depends on selecting the most appropriate formulation. This study examined allantoin emulsions and gel formulations. In water-in-oil (W/O) and oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions, the main emulsifier was varied, while the same gelling agent was used in all formulations to test the effects of oil phase presence and emulsifier type on allantoin release, as well as the formulations’ rheological and textural characteristics. O/W emulsions exhibited similar release rates and the overall amount released over six hours (11–14.8%), while the highest amount of allantoin (20.9%) was released from the gel formulation. Conversely, the amount of allantoin released from the W/O emulsion (0.77%) was insufficient. Experimental data generally fit best with the Higuchi model kinetics. The formulations demonstrated shear-thinning thixotropic behavior. The greatest deviation from the Newtonian type of flow, with the smallest value of constant n (0.106-0.13) and the largest thixotropic loop area (6602.67-8140 Pas-1) were shown by O/W emulsions. The W/O emulsion exhibited the highest constant n (0.70) and smaller hysteresis area (991.23 Pas-1). Firmness and consistency values increased in the order: gel < W/O emulsion < O/W emulsions. The O/W emulsions showed similarity in microstructure and textural characteristics, likely explaining their similar release behavior.

Evaluation of rheo-viscoelasticity of magnesium-silicate-hydrate mixes incorporating different superplasticizers

This study investigated rheo-viscoelastic behaviors of MgO-SiO2 pastes with three phosphate additives (sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP), sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP), and sodium orthophosphate (SOP)) as superplasticizers. Static yield stress, dynamic yield stress, median differential viscosity, thixotropic loop area, structural recovery rate, and non-destructive structural build-up were analyzed. Furthermore, assessment of hydration and particle dispersion stability was facilitated by employing isothermal calorimetry, XRD, DTG, and zeta potential techniques. SHMP significantly decreased the static and dynamic rheology, thixotropy, and viscoelastic evolution. Samples incorporating 2 wt% SOP exhibited enhanced rheological parameters, particularly static yield stress, owing to increased brucite formation and a denser microstructure in the fresh paste. Adsorption of phosphate additives on MgO surfaces inhibited formation of brucite and improved interparticle electrostatic repulsion, thereby increasing suspension stability. High-efficiency adsorption of SHMP on MgO surfaces, coupled with the retardation of brucite nucleation-and-growth, and enhancement in suspension stability, greatly restrained the rheo-viscoelastic evolution of MgO-SiO2 system.

Technological usage of ripe banana pulp for the development of a salad dressing

Oxidized banana (OB) is one of the important food wastes which contains a high potential to use in different products such as salad dressing. OB is a good ingredient in salad dressing due to its presence of antioxidants, vitamins, dietary fibers, and starch. the current study aimed to replace OB with non-oxidized banana (T1: 0 % T2: 25 %, T3: 50 %, T4: 75 %, and T5: 100 % OB) in salad dressing formulation and focused on the effects of OB on color, sensory, physical, chemical, rheological properties, microbial growth, and consumer studies. E-nose and volatile compounds analysis by GC-MS was also performed. According to the results, L*, a*, and b* values decreased significantly (P < 0.5) leading to a darker color of the product and effected other color evaluations (Hue, chroma, and ∆E). Viscosity was decreased significantly by the addition of the OB in the dressing formulation while pH did not change between T5 and T1 treatments. All sensory attributes score (9-point hedonic scale) decreased and consumers were given of fact of OB salad dressing has environmental benefits. Steady shear flow measurements, frequency sweep analysis, and the thixotropic loop of the oxidized banana indicated that adding OB to salad dressing negatively affected textural properties. The most effective attributes are, texture, and color discriminating the underlying differences among all 5 treatments according to MANOVA Wilks’ P-values. McNemar’s test was applied to analyze before and after consumers had been given the information about OB environmental benefits indicating that emotional attributes were changed after knowing the fact state as well as the odds ratio predicted purchase intent which increased with an increase in overall liking, pleased, flavor, and satisfied attributes. The acceptability threshold for OB in salad dressing formulation is 50 % OB. Among the identified volatile organic compounds are acetic acid, hexanoic acid, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 2-methylpropyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, and phenylethyl acetate. The volatile organic compounds identified are 3-methyl-butanoic acid, 2-methyl-butanoic acid, and (E)-2-Decenal. The electronic device could discriminate these aromas, and the results obtained agree with those of the tasting panel and the volatile compounds.

Study on the preparation of high-concentration ammonium phosphate suspension fertilizer from wet-process phosphoric acid and its rheological properties

BackgroundNew water-soluble fertilizer can be applied to modern irrigation systems and has significant advantages. This study uses wet-process phosphoric acid as raw material and chelation and suspension technology to prepare water-soluble fertilizer containing high-concentration ammonium phosphate. MethodsFirst, the composition and viscosity of the wet-process phosphoric acid was analyzed, and the ammoniation and chelation processes were explored. Subsequently, four suspension formulations were compared and selected after product analysis. The final process conditions are: 42 wt % (P2O5 %) phosphoric acid, 20 wt % chelating agent, pH = 4.5, 0.03 wt % xanthan gum or 0.02 wt % carboxymethyl cellulose of respectively, and obtain suspension fertilizer by high-speed shearing. Significant FindsThe Bingham model and Casson model were used to fit the rheological data of the two, and R2 values were greater than 0.94. The thixotropic loops of the two were measured using the triangular shear rate variation method mode, and the Huang equation and MBM models were used to fit the thixotropic loop data of the two respectively. In addition, at different pH and temperature, the suspended fertilizer performed well.

Effects of molecular entanglements in amylopectin on the anti-thixotropy, gel properties and viscosity properties

Amylopectin with different side chain architecture and distribution were prepared by ɑ-amylase (AM) and maltogenic α-amylase (MA). The purpose of the study was to investigative the effect of molecular entanglement on the anti-thixotropy, gel properties, water distribution and viscosity properties. The results showed that MA specificity hydrolyzed chains ranging from DP 10–17 while retaining the long internal chains, while AM tended to trim the relatively longer chains of DP ≥ 12. The special (ŋsp) in a double-logarithmic plot versus concentration exhibited two linear regions with changes of gradient at AM-M and MA-M polymer concentrations of about 6.20% and 1.31% (w/v), respectively. Higher storage modulus (G′) and final viscosity, and lower frequency dependence indicated the stronger gels of waxy maize starch were formed by MA modification, despite exhibiting a similar thixotropic loop area to AM samples. The microstructure of MA gels showed a more compact honeycomb-like network structure observed by SEM. These results confirmed the chain length profile of the amylopectin pruned by MA was more conducive to produce anti-thixotropic starch-based material. This study is beneficial to provide insights for customizing starch skeleton structure to meet specific industrial application requirements of starch-based products, especially where the rheological properties need to be precisely controlled.

Unification of rheology of thixotropic yield stress fluids and screen printing properties of pastes

At present, the electrode width of solar cells has been successfully reduced to less than 20 µm. Ensuring its morphology and aspect ratio remains a major challenge to further reducing the electrode width, which puts higher requirements on the performance of the paste. Previous studies have focused less on selecting organic carrier components and the relationship between carrier and paste printing suitability. Therefore, in this study, considering the wettability of the solvent to the silicon wafer, the solubility to the binder and the boiling point, the selection method of the mixed solvent for the organic carrier was given. The Herschel-Buckley model was introduced to characterize the flow behavior of the organic carrier. Furthermore, the model parameters were unified with the printability of the paste and the organic carrier model parameters corresponding to the paste with good printability were contributed. The results showed that when the consistency index (K) was 21.883 and the exponent (n) was 0.1545, the aspect ratio of the electrode was the largest. When the yield stress (5.38 Pa) and thixotropic loop area (707.71 Pa s−1) were the largest, the morphology of the electrode was the most regular.

High efficiency regulating sedimentation and rheological properties of copper tailings using polycarboxylate superplasticizers

The recovery of low grade and fine particle copper ore usually requires sufficient dissociation, which reduces the particle size to the submicron level, presenting new challenges in subsequent copper tailings disposal. Flocculants can improve tailings sedimentation efficiency, but they also change the rheological properties of the slurry, resulting in low efficiency and high energy consumption during long-distances pumping. To address this issue, this study introduced polycarboxylate ether (PCE) superplasticizers as auxiliary additives for tailings treatment to improve fine particles sedimentation efficiency while enhancing slurry flowability. The results showed that compared to non-ionic polyacrylamide (NPAM) treated slurries, the synergistic effects of PCE and NPAM increased the initial sedimentation rate (ISR) by up to 3.4 times while decreasing the yield stress by up to 8 times and the thixotropic loop area by 10.5 times. DLVO theory calculations showed that PCE mainly affects particle interactions through a significant decrease in electrostatic repulsion. By in-situ monitoring with a focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) device, it was demonstrated that the synergistic effect of PCE improved the flocculation ability, strength, and regrowth ability of flocs. Furthermore, strong correlations were found between floc properties and fluid rheological properties. Overall, this study indicated that PCE additive was a promising reagent for fine particles slurry rapid settling and flowability enhancement, providing a new approach for copper tailings disposal.

Characterization of thixotropic properties of fresh cement‐based materials

AbstractAccurate evaluation of the thixotropy of mixtures is crucial for the design and production of self‐compacting concrete, pumped concrete, and 3D printed concrete. However, there is no uniform standard for the assessment of the thixotropy of fresh cement‐based materials. In this paper, four widely used test procedures (thixotropic index, static yield stress growth curve, thixotropic hysteresis loop area, and three‐stage curve) are compared to determine the relationships between them. The results show that the test procedures based on the break‐down (destruction) process (thixotropic index, thixotropic hysteresis loop area, and degree of breakdown) are difficult to distinguish between reversible and irreversible thixotropic structures and to accurately assess the thixotropy of mixtures. The short‐term structural build‐up rate Rthix is more suitable for characterizing the thixotropic properties. The three‐stage curve can characterize both the degree of structural damage and the reconstruction ability of the paste, nano‐attapulgite clay can significantly improve the structural recovery degree of the mixture at the early hydration stage. This study will provide guidance and a theoretical framework for choosing the thixotropic characterization method of cement‐based materials in practical engineering applications.

Time-dependent thixotropy of dysphagia management-oriented polysaccharide solutions

During dysphagia management, the required foods are often thixotropic yield fluids (YSFs) in which polysaccharide gums are used as thickeners or gelling agents. Thixotropy is a prevalent hysteresis phenomenon in YSFs, so it always occurs as an apparently time-dependent stress or modulus response. The yielding behavior of the food bolus is inseparable from the mastication and swallowing process, among which time-dependent thixotropy is integral. Nevertheless, standardizing and generalizing the thixotropy levels has always been a challenge in the manufacturing application of YSFs. Moreover, the existing thixotropic approaches cannot guarantee the accuracy and comparability of the measurement process due to technicalities. Along these lines, in this work, the thixotropic stress-shear rate hysteresis loops were investigated based on the utilization of dysphagia management-oriented model polysaccharide solutions that exhibited different time-dependent thixotropy levels. More specifically, xanthan gum (XG), carboxymethylated curdlan (CMCD), and konjac glucomannan (KGM) solutions were selected to mimic dysphagia diet construction, whereas the relationship between their technically mechanical properties and structural changes was analyzed. Compared with the KGM solutions, both XG and CMCD solutions presented significant thixotropy levels with different timescale responses and concentration dependence. The recorded discrepancy in their loop area and shape were attributed to their different intermolecular association and networks.

Visual assessment and rheological characterization of shape retention of products on a surface.

A device to measure the height loss of a sample extruded from a syringe on a surface is described thus emulating toothpaste extrusion from a tube with the goal to predict shape retention of the extruded ribbon. Correlations with rheological tests are considered with a special focus on experiments more likely to be implementable in an industrial environment. In agreement with previous studies, the instantaneous viscosity maximum measured in a stress ramp test is a good predictor of ribbon height loss. Up- and down-shear flow curves of the thixotropic loop were fitted with a generalized Casson equation and the correlations of the fitting parameters with the height loss were also considered. Yield stress extracted from the up-shear flow curve as well as the shape of the curve is found to define the ribbon height loss as well as the degree of thixotropy which may be quantified by the width of the loop or simply as the ratio of viscosities at low shear rate.

Utilization of coal gangue power generation industry by-product CFA in cement: Workability, rheological behavior and microstructure of blended cement paste

Circulating fluidized bed fly ash (CFA), by-product of coal gangue power generation industry based on circulating fluidized bed combustion technology, differs from ordinary fly ash (OFA) in its physical and chemical properties. This paper aims to investigate the influences of CFA with three particle sizes on the workability and rheological properties of cement paste. The results show that untreated raw CFA (RCFA) can significantly degrade many properties of fresh cement paste. Directly using CFA as a mineral admixture in cement-based materials is not suitable in terms of workability. However, CFA through grinding methods can significantly mitigate the detrimental effect of CFA on the flowability of cement paste. When 15% ultrafine CFA (UCFA) was added, the cement paste exhibited relatively favorable workability and rheological properties. The rheological behavior of cement paste containing CFA with three particle sizes follow the shear thinning, which is in line with the modified Bingham model. Furthermore, the reasons for the impact of CFA on the microscopic level of cement workability are analyzed and discussed. The addition of CFA reduces the amount of free solution in the cement paste, leading to the formation of a flocculated structure and an increase in the thixotropic loop area. Based on the analysis of TOC, BET and TEM, it was determined that numerous polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PCE) molecules are adsorbed onto the rough and porous surface structure of CFA particles, hence the destructive ability of PCE to the flocculation structure caused by cement hydration is weakened. Therefore, the mechanism that CFA affecting the working performance of cement paste can be determined as: the adsorption of free water and PCE molecules.

Oxidized cellulose nanofibers from sugarcane bagasse obtained by microfluidization: Morphology and rheological behavior

It is advantageous to understand the relationship between cellulose fiber morphology and the rheological behavior of its dispersions so that their application can be optimized. The goal of this study was to produce sugarcane bagasse-sourced cellulose dispersions with different numbers of high-pressure homogenization cycles. Microfluidization produced cellulose nanofibers (between 5 and 80 nm in diameter) with similar surface charge densities and crystallinities (measured on the resulting films). Oscillatory rheology showed that TEMPO-oxidized cellulose dispersions exhibited gel-like behavior. However, not only did the samples with more microfluidization cycles present a lower storage modulus, but the sample with 100 cycles completely lost the gel-like characteristic, presenting a viscous fluid rheological behavior. Thixotropy loop tests revealed the influence of nanofiber length on the dispersion's structure, as evidenced by the decrease in the hysteresis value along with fiber breakage. Therefore, our findings demonstrate that the rheological properties of the dispersion can be tuned according to the length of the nanofibers, allowing for targeted applications.

Combined organic reagents for co-conditioning of sewage sludge: High performance in deep dewatering and significant contribution to the floc property

In this study, we have examined a new all-organic conditioning method for sewage sludge pretreatment, featuring the combined use of poly dimethyldiallylammonium chloride (PDMD) and tannic acid (TA). The impact of the reagents and the specific dosing order were identified for process optimization. Results showed that TA + PDMD mode (i.e., TA addition followed by PDMD) has better sludge filterability and dewaterability. With the optimal dosage, it decreased specific resistance of filtration by 90.60%, capillary suction time by 65.08%, and reduced moisture content of dewatered sludge cake to 53.46%, giving the highest dewatering performance reported so far. In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between viscosity and dehydration performance (Rp = 0.9898, p < 0.05). The explanation was the enhanced interparticle interaction and structural strength, indicated by higher apparent viscosity and yield stress, thixotropic hysteresis loop, solid-like viscoelastic property, and higher fractal dimension (Df) value as well. The enhanced compressibility (0.69 versus 1.06 of raw sludge) and SEM image further confirmed the compact and permeable structure of the conditioned sludge. And for dosing order, it was proved that TA-first conditioning method led to full reaction of protein precipitation, which produced increasingly compact flocs consequently. In conclusion, the floc property played an important role in condensed sludge formation and in deep dewatering process, which offset the side effect of undesirably higher equilibrium viscosity of the conditioned sludge.

Interlayer bonding investigation of 3D printing cementitious materials with fluidity-retaining polycarboxylate superplasticizer and high-dispersion polycarboxylate superplasticizer

Proposed special requirements exist for the rheological properties and time-varying characteristics of 3D printing cementitious materials (3DPC). In this study, high-dispersion polycarboxylate superplasticizer (HD-PC) and fluidity-retaining polycarboxylate superplasticizer (FR-PC) were used to control the rheological behaviors of 3DPC. The correlation of the time interval, the time varying characteristics of the rheological properties and the interlayer bonding strength were investigated. The results indicated that FR-PC improved the fluidity-retention ability and thixotropy of the fresh pastes. The thixotropic hysteresis loop area and reflocculation rate (Rthix) of FR-PC were 101.9% and 80.4% higher than those of HD-PC, respectively. Furthermore, the FR-PC polymer has a positive effect on the interlayer bonding and may reduce the negative effect caused by extending the time interval. During the time interval of 20 s to 30 min, the interlayer bonding strength with FR-PC decreases by 14.1%, while that with HD-PC decreases by 50.0%.

Synthesis of a hydrophobic association polymer with an inner salt structure for fracture fluid with ultra-high-salinity water

This study used a compound initiation free radical polymerization process to synthesize a hydrophobic association polymer (PDMA1) with good salt resistance for use in ultra-high salinity reservoirs. The critical association and entanglement concentrations of PDMA1 in deionized (DI) water were 1596 and 2799 mg/L, respectively. The properties of the polymer in simulated formation (SF) water were investigated using viscosity change and conductivity tests, and the apparent viscosity of the PDMA1 solution was investigated using apparent viscosity, viscoelasticity, and thixotropy experiments. To a certain extent, the apparent viscosity of the solution was found to be influenced by metal ions. Under total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations of up to 239,500 ppm, when the polymer concentration exceeded the critical entanglement concentration, the apparent viscosity of the polymer remained close to that of DI water. Additionally, the viscosity of the PDMA1 solution was affected by different types of metal ions, and the polymer solution thickened owing to divalent cations. PDMA1 is resistant to salt owing to hydrophobic interaction, electrostatic shielding, and double-layer compression. The results of the thixotropy and viscoelasticity tests revealed the thixotropy loop area of the PDMA1 solution in SF water to be greater than that in DI water. Under these conditions, PDMA1 is mostly viscous at low shear frequencies and mostly elastic at high shear frequencies. The PDMA1 inner-salt hydrophobic association polymer can be utilized as a chemical agent for tertiary recovery and fracturing, processes in high-salinity reservoirs, particularly for aggravating fracturing fluid.

Effect of the fractal characteristics of the RDX particles on the rheology of the RDX-based casting aluminized explosives

ABSTRACT To study the correlation between the fractal theory and the particle size gradation of the main explosive, the distribution characteristics of the RDX-based casting aluminized (GHL) explosives with different particle sizes and gradations were analyzed using fractal theory, and the thixotropic loop method was used to explore the effect of the gradation on the slurry. The experimental results showed that by fitting the lnYv(r)-lnr curve, the fractal characteristics between particles were found, and the fractal dimension (D) expanded from less than 1.6 to more than 2, which proved that the D of GHL explosive can be improved by particle size gradation. The thixotropic loop area of the slurry can be reduced by increasing the temperature and particle size distribution, which can effectively reduce the thixotropy property of the slurry. The smaller the area of the thixotropic loop was, the larger the D was. With the increase of shear rate, the apparent viscosity of slurry decreased, which was pseudoplastic fluid. The larger the non-Newtonian index, the larger the D of slurry. The particle size gradation can reduce the modulus of the slurry at the high angular frequency and the complex viscosity at the low angular frequency.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ОЛИВКОВОГО МАСЛА НА РЕОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ МАЙОНЕЗА

Rheological properties are an important parameter for the quality of mayonnaise. This article in-vestigated the effect of adding olive oil on the rheological properties and color change of mayon-naise. The influence of the storage time of mayonnaise in the refrigerator on the change in rheo-logical properties was also investigated. Mayonnaise was prepared on a laboratory rotary disperser of the Turrex type with a rotor / stator system with a rotor speed range (10000-30000 rpm) at room temperature. Mayonnaise contains 75% oil with varying proportions of sunflower oil and ol-ive oil. Rheological measurements were carried out on a Brookfield rotary viscometer with con-centric cylinders at temperatures of 10 ° C and 25 ° C. Based on the data obtained, the consistency coefficient of the rheological parameters, the flow index and the apparent viscosity were calculat-ed. The color of the test samples of mayonnaise was measured using a three-color colorimeter. All mayonnaise samples exhibit non-Newtonian pseudoplastic flow with a defined thixotropic loop area. Research results have shown that the addition of olive oil affects the rheological properties and color of mayonnaise. The addition of olive oil to the oil phase of mayonnaise reduces shear stress, apparent viscosity, consistency factor and color change at 25 ° C and 10 ° C. When storing mayonnaise in the refrigerator for 15 days, the rheological parameters change. Sunflower oil may-onnaise (75%) has the highest value (L), which means it is measured instrumentally as the bright-est.

Rheological behavior of bentonite-water suspension at various temperatures: Effect of solution salinity

Bentonite suspension have been widely used as drilling fluid in drilling engineerings. In this work, a modified thixotropic loop test was conducted on 6 wt% bentonite suspensions with 4 solution salinities, to investigate the influence of salinity on rheological behaviors of Na-bentonite suspensions. Most of flow curves were well fitted with Herschel-Bulkley model except first upward curves, where stress overshoot appeared in the initial stage. It was found that the yield stress and flow index decreased with increasing salinity. The suspensions present shear thinning behavior in the first upward curves but shear thickening or Bingham behavior in the second loops. Besides, at 20 and 14 °C, a notable thixotropic type transition was observed from positive to negative when the second shear loop was applied to the suspensions in case of low salinity. Both the change of flow type and thixotropy mentioned before may be attributed to the further structural evolution resulting from the long-time shearing at low salinities. However, this change was suppressed at 4 g/L due to the effect of high salinity on particle association mode. The test at 7 °C showed interesting results that the twice upward flow curves presented the stress overshoot and the twice loops performed a positive thixotropic behavior, not as same as the cases of the other temperatures. It indicates the structural evolution during shear process may be affected at low enough temperatures.

Influence of rice husk on the properties of fiber-reinforced silicon sol shells used in investment casting process

Herein, short carbon fibers were incorporated in silica sol slurry to enhance the strength of silica sol shell for investment casting. The content of carbon fibers, with a length of 3.0 mm and diameter of 7.32 µm, was varied from 0 to 1 wt. % of the refractory powder mass. The influence of fiber content on rheological properties was systematically investigated. The results showed that the apparent viscosities of slurry with different amounts of fibers decreased with increasing shear rate. The apparent viscosity of as-prepared slurry increased with increasing fiber content and a maximum value of 149.25 × 10−3 Pa·s was attained at the fiber content of 0.4 wt. %, which corresponded to an increase of 22.6%. The high shear viscosity of the slurry initially increased with the increase in carbon fiber content, followed by a gradual decrease. Similarly, thixotropic loop area of the as-prepared slurry, with 0.4 wt. % carbon fibers, exhibited maximum value of 239.41 Pa·s −1, corresponding to an increase of 265%. Moreover, when the fiber content exceeded 0.6%, the gas permeability was significantly increased, which can be attributed to the high fiber content, the occurrence of agglomeration and clustering. To improve the permeability and reduce the residual strength of the shell, rice husk was added in the back slurry. The rice husk modified fiber-reinforced shell exhibited higher green strength and lower residual strength. When the content of rice husk was 1.0%, the residual strength decreased by 29.10%. The porosity and permeability of shell after roasting has improved.

Low-Temperature-Meltable Elastomers Based on Linear Polydimethylsiloxane Chains Alpha, Omega-Terminated with Mesogenic Groups as Physical Crosslinker: A Passive Smart Material with Potential as Viscoelastic Coupling. Part II-Viscoelastic and Rheological Properties.

Rheological and viscoelastic properties of physically crosslinked low-temperature elastomers were studied. The supramolecularly assembling copolymers consist of linear polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastic chains terminated on both ends with mesogenic building blocks (LC) of azobenzene type. They are generally and also structurally highly different from the well-studied LC polymer networks or LC elastomers: The LC units make up only a small volume fraction in our materials and act as fairly efficient physical crosslinkers with thermotropic properties. The aggregation (nano-phase separation) of the relatively rare, small and spatially separated terminal LC units generates temperature-switched viscoelasticity in the molten copolymers. Their rheological behavior was found to be controlled by an interplay of nano-phase separation of the LC units (growth and splitting of their aggregates) and of the thermotropic transitions in these aggregates (which change their stiffness). As a consequence, multiple gel points (up to three) are observed in temperature scans of the copolymers. The physical crosslinks also can be reversibly disconnected by large mechanical strain in the ‘warm’ rubbery state, as well as in melt (thixotropy). The kinetics of crosslink formation was found to be fast if induced by temperature and extremely fast in case of internal self-healing after strain damage. Thixotropic loop tests hence display only very small hysteresis in the LC-melt-state, although the melts show very distinct shear thinning. Our study evaluates structure-property relationships in three homologous systems with elastic PDMS segments of different length (8.6, 16.3 and 64.4 repeat units). The studied copolymers might be of interest as passive smart materials, especially as temperature-controlled elastic/viscoelastic mechanical coupling.