The Rheology Centre manages and maintains instrumentation used to study the rheological behavour of materials. The rheometers available within the department include the following instruments:
- ARES - Controlled strain rheometer.
- Bohlin - Controlled stress rheometer.
- Cambridge Shearing System (Linkam CSS) - This is an optical microscope stage that allows a sample to be observed as it is sheared. It consists of two glass plates, the bottom of which is rotated by a stepper motor. Images of the sample are recorded by a video camera attached to the mircroscope. The temperature of the sample can be controlled by electric heaters positioned on either side of the plates.
- Cambridge Multi Pass Rheometer (MPR) - This is a unique dual piston capillary rheometer that is capable of operating a high shear rates and under pressure. It can be used in conjunction with optical birefringence and X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) techniques. See the MPR web pages for further details.
There is a small charge for the use of these instruments by members of the University. For more details please contact Dr Simon Butler.