Journal of Rheology, Vol.41, No.1, 151-166, 1997
Rheological and Rheooptical Characterization of Shear-Induced Structure Formation in a Nonionic Drag-Reducing Surfactant Solution
We know of only a few rheological studies of nonionic surfactant solutions, and these did not show clear evidence of shear-induced structures (SIS) formation. This paper reports, however, some rheological and rheo-optical results for nonionic surfactant solutions at different concentrations and temperatures that do show clear evidence of such SIS formation. For example, in a 0.3% SPE 95285 solution at 5 degrees C, the shear viscosity, N-1, and flow birefringence start from a low level and takes tens of seconds to grow to a high plateau region upon the application of a 100 s(-1) shear. The re-application of the same shear after rest following a preshear indicates that the effect of the shear persists for a very long time (hundreds of seconds). These transient flow results resemble those exhibited by cationic surfactants or associating polymer solutions. The time needed for the viscosity and N-1 to reach plateau values generally decrease with increasing shear rate and temperature. At moderate shear rates, the N-1 and viscosity decrease monotonically with increasing temperature, whereas at low shear rate the viscosity increases with temperature up to the cloud point, and then decreases. The steady state N-1 and viscosity levels increase with the surfactant concentration. Both the transient and steady state behavior appear rather insensitive to the addition of contaminants.
Keywords:INDUCED MICELLAR STRUCTURES;ANGLE-NEUTRON-SCATTERING;POLYACRYLAMIDE SOLUTIONS;FLOW BIREFRINGENCE;TEMPERATURE;VISCOSITY;ADDITIVES;REDUCTION;DYNAMICS;SYSTEMS