title: Solid-liquid transition and rejuvenation similarities in complex flows of thixotropic materials studied by NMR and MRI.
abstract: We study the flow of a typical thixotropic material subjected to very different deformation histories (squeeze, shear, and extrusion) with either local (proton NMR and magnetic resonance imaging) or macroscopic measurements after different times of rest. Specifically, we measure the velocity fields and the spin-spin NMR relaxation of the material after different flow histories. The relaxation data exhibits a long relaxing component revealing information about the reversible microstructural evolution of the sample during aging-rejuvenation cycles. We show that for each deformation process, the evolution of the viscosity during the solid-liquid transition is similar by a factor related to the initial state of the material. Moreover, results examining the impact of the rate at which the deformation is imposed suggest that the state of the material during this transition may be described by a single parameter reflecting the average size and deformation of the material's flocs. These results also show that localization of flow occurs as a result of a progressive differential evolution of the material in different regions of the flow, and thus are determined by the boundary conditions of the flow.
authors.affiliation: Institut Navier, LMSGC, Université Paris-Est, 2 Allée Kepler, 77420 Champs sur Marne, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodts
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boujlel
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rabideau
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ovarlez
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roussel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moucheront
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lanos
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coussot
mesh_terms: D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D044367:Phase Transition; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014783:Viscosity