Journal of Rheology, Vol.45, No.5, 1141-1157, 2001
Influence of gelation on particle shape in sheared biopolymer blends
The morphology of biopolymer droplets gelled under shear as the dispersed phase of a two-phase mixture of biopolymers in aqueous solution (or "biopolymer blend") was investigated experimentally. The process involves shearing the liquid biopolymer blend either at a steady stress till gelation, for creation of ellipsoidal gelled particles. or a stress step-up process for creation of high aspect ratio particles. The resulting particle shapes are analyzed and compared against models for affine deformation conditions [Janssen (1997)] and steady shear conditions [Maffetone and Minale (1998)]. Although they are only strictly valid for Newtonian fluid phases, application of these models to a situation where one phase is gelling, has provided insight into the morphological changes occurring in the shear-g-elation process.