K. Walters – författare

The science of rheology remains a mystery to most people, even to some scientists. Some respectable dictionaries have been quite cavalier in their attitude to the science, the small Collins Gem dictionary, for example, being quite happy to inform us that a Rhea is an three-toed South American ostrich, whilst at the same time offering no definition of rheology. This maybe due to the fact that the science is interdisciplinary and does not fit well into any one of the historical disciplines.

This book contains an in-depth study of the history of rheology, beginning with the statements of Heraclitus, Confucius and the prophetess Deborah. It also emphasises the distinctive contributions of Newton, Hooke, Boltzmann, Maxwell, Kelvin and others, and culminates in the flourishing activity in the second half of this century.

Features of this book:

. Is the only book on the subject

. Prevents the rediscovery of results already made

. Will educate newcomers to the field to the rich heritage in even a relatively recent science like rheology.

The book will be invaluable for science and scientific history libraries and will also be of interest to rheologists, and scientists working in the polymer processing, food, lubrication, detergent and similar industries.

The science of rheology remains a mystery to most people, even to some scientists. Some respectable dictionaries have been quite cavalier in their attitude to the science, the small Collins Gem dictionary, for example, being quite happy to inform us that a Rhea is an three-toed South American ostrich, whilst at the same time offering no definition of rheology. This maybe due to the fact that the science is interdisciplinary and does not fit well into any one of the historical disciplines.

This book contains an in-depth study of the history of rheology, beginning with the statements of Heraclitus, Confucius and the prophetess Deborah. It also emphasises the distinctive contributions of Newton, Hooke, Boltzmann, Maxwell, Kelvin and others, and culminates in the flourishing activity in the second half of this century.

Features of this book:

. Is the only book on the subject

. Prevents the rediscovery of results already made

. Will educate newcomers to the field to the rich heritage in even a relatively recent science like rheology.

The book will be invaluable for science and scientific history libraries and will also be of interest to rheologists, and scientists working in the polymer processing, food, lubrication, detergent and similar industries.

Rheology is, by common consent, a difficult subject and some of the theoretical components are often viewed as being of prohibitive complexity by scientists without a strong mathematical background. There are also the difficulties inherent in any multidisciplinary science like rheology for those with a specific training. Therefore, newcomers to the field are sometimes discouraged, and for them the existing texts on the subject - some of which are outstanding - are of limited assistance because of their depth of detail and highly mathematical nature.This book introduces the subject of rheology in terms understandable to non-experts and describes the application of rheological principles to many industrial products and processes. It provides a simple but authoritative guide which shows clearly how mathematics, physics and chemistry have contributed to the development of rheology. The generic features of all liquid-like materials are summarised, i.e. viscosity, linear viscoelasticity, normal stresses and extensional viscosity. Particular systems are then discussed, i.e. polymeric liquids and suspensions. The final chapter gives an outline of the theoretical advances which have been made. Consistent notation and nomenclature have been used throughout the book, and the key textbooks and publications which will enable the reader to follow up particular topics are listed.

For this volume, experts in rheology and polymer processing present fundamental and applied information on the rheological properties of polymers, in particular those relevant to processing, contributing to the physical understanding and the mathematical modelling of polymer processing sequences. Basic concepts of non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, micro-rheological modelling and constitutive modelling are reviewed, and rheological measurements are described. Topics with practical relevance are debated, such as linear viscoelasticity, converging and diverging flows, and the rheology of multiphase systems. Approximation methods are discussed for the computer modelling of polymer melt flow. Subsequently, polymer processing technologies are studied from both simulation and engineering perspectives. Mixing, crystallization and reactive processing aspects are also included. This book aims to provide an integrated and complete view of polymer processing and rheology, and is intended for institutions and individuals engaged in the characterization, testing, compounding, modification and processing of polymeric materials.It could also support academic polymer processing engineering programmes.