April 26, 2024

Learn Physics in Your Kitchen: Do-It-Yourself Fluid Mechanics

Newtonian fluids have a constant viscosity, but non-Newtonian fluids can warp when force is applied. Easy rheometric measurements can be carried out in anyones house to determine quantities such as shear thinning, viscoelasticity, and other rheological properties.
The physics of this flowable gel substance, comparable to hair gel, was mathematically designed to approximate the yield stress. Another student, Max Friestad, developed an experiment to study a behavior understood as gravity-driven filament stretching. Using a cellular phone with a high-speed frame-rate video camera, Friestad was able to take measurements and determine the extensional viscosity.

Newtonian fluids have a consistent viscosity, but non-Newtonian fluids can warp when force is applied. Often, they react with plastic circulation. Basic rheometric measurements can be performed in anybodys house to determine quantities such as shear thinning, viscoelasticity, and other rheological homes.
” We at first called the project Shelter-in-Place Rheometry due to the intense nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place guidelines,” stated Randy Ewoldt, the professor involved in developing the course. “But we recognized that the idea is more general and have because taken to calling it diy rheometry.”
The jobs appointed to the trainees had two parts: gathering qualitative visual proof of rheological residential or commercial properties and taking quantitative measurements. The students looked for four behaviors: shear thinning viscosity, viscoelasticity, shear typical stress distinction, and extensional viscosity.
Diy measurement. A student took a single photo (left) of a carbopol suspension in water scooped with a little spatula. The physics of this flowable gel compound, similar to hair gel, was mathematically designed to approximate the yield tension. Credit: M. Tanver Hossain and Randy H. Ewoldt
Even without access to laboratory rheometers, the trainees established innovative and special ways to bring out their measurements. They studied a variety of typical compounds, including buttercream frosting, toothpaste, yogurt, peanut butter, mayo, egg whites, and numerous other compounds readily available in their homes.
One student, Ignasius Anugraha, developed a compression squeeze circulation analysis to study buttercream frosting. Anugraha positioned the frosting in between two cardboard discs and subjected it to a force by stacking ramekins filled with water atop the discs.
The frosting had the ability to support the weight of the water till a critical value was reached, at which point the frosting collapsed on one side and squeezed out. Using equations involving the weight of the water, Anugraha had the ability to measure a quantity called the yield stress.
Another student, Max Friestad, created an experiment to study a habits referred to as gravity-driven filament stretching. Friestad suspended a tube of tooth paste vertically and gently squeezed it, expelling a dollop of toothpaste that gradually extended, stretching downward. Utilizing a cellphone with a high-speed frame-rate video camera, Friestad had the ability to take measurements and determine the extensional viscosity.
The course was so effective that the faculty continue to offer it, both in-person and online.
” We are currently working on a review of approaches which we think will be beneficial not only for coursework and guideline however also for research and technical communication,” stated M. Tanver Hossain.
Recommendation: “Do-it-yourself rheometry” by M. Tanver Hossain and Randy H. Ewoldt, 10 May 2022, Physics of Fluids.DOI: 10.1063/ 5.0085361.

Rheology, a branch of physics, is the research study of the flow of matter, primarily in a liquid or gas state, however also as “soft solids” or solids under conditions in which they react with plastic circulation rather than deforming elastically in action to a used force.

Using easily readily available equipment and substances in anyones kitchen area, you can complete house study jobs to discover complicated fluid habits.
Home study jobs of complex fluids in anyones cooking area, utilizing readily offered devices and substances.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered lots of disturbances throughout the educational system, it likewise led to some unexpected advantages.
In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) explain their deal with trainees on an at-home study of intricate fluid habits. The course covers rheology, a type of physics that is used to study the method non-Newtonian liquids or semisolid compounds flow.