The rheological behaviour of suspensions of fat particles in oil interpreted in terms of a transient-network model

The transient-network model for concentrated dispersions, described in a previous paper, is used to describe the rheological behaviour of dispersions of glyceryl tristearate crystals in paraffin oil. The model prediction of the storage modulus of this system is compared with corresponding expressions given in literature. Model calculations are carried out to fit the linear viscoelastic behaviour of the system as well as its stress response in large amplitude shear experiments. Information is thus obtained about the stiffness and strength of the interparticle bonds, and the chance of them breaking in a state of rest or as the result of flow. It is concluded that the probability of interparticle bond fracture strongly depends on the measure of bond stretching. The general findings link up with the Lennard-Jones potential which is assumed to describe the potential energy of the bonds between the particles. Accurate measurements of the temperature dependence of the dynamic moduli by making use of a torsion resonator lead to the conclusion that the energy dissipation at a high frequency originates mainly from the flow of liquid around the particles.