Electrorheological properties of chitosan suspension

Abstract

Electrorheological (ER) properties of the chitosan suspension were investigated by varying electric fields, volume fractions, shear rates, and temperatures. Chitosan suspension showed the ER response (Bingham fluid behavior) upon application of the electric field due to the polarizability of the branched amino polar group of the chitosan particles. The shear stress exhibited a linear dependence on the volume fraction and the square of the field strength. The Arrhenius plot of the data revealed an activation energy of about 0.6 kcal mol(-1). On the basis of the experimental results, chitosan suspension correlated with the polarization model and found to be an ER fluid. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.