Dynamic oscillatory shear tests are common in rheology and have been used to investigate a wide range of soft matter and complex fluids including polymer melts and solutions, block copolymers, biological macromolecules, polyelectrolytes, surfactants, suspensions, emulsions and beyond. More specifically, Small Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (SAOS) tests have become the canonical method for probing the linear viscoelastic properties of these complex fluids because of the firm theoretical background [1][2][3][4] and the ease of implementing suitable test protocols. However, in most processing operations the deformations can be large and rapid: it is therefore the nonlinear material properties that control the system response. A full sample characterization thus requires well-defined nonlinear test protocols. Consequently there has been a recent renewal of interest in exploiting Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) tests to investigate and quantify the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of complex fluids. In terms of the experimental input, both LAOS and SAOS require the user to select appropriate ranges of strain amplitude (γ 0 ) and frequency (ω). However, there is a distinct difference in the analysis of experimental output, i.e. the material response. At sufficiently large strain amplitude, the material response will become nonlinear in LAOS tests and the familiar material functions used to quantify the linear behavior in SAOS tests are no longer sufficient. For example, the definitions of the linear viscoelastic moduli G΄(ω) and G˝(ω) are based inherently on the assumption that the stress response is purely sinusoidal (linear). However, a nonlinear stress response is not a perfect sinusoid and therefore the viscoelastic moduli are not uniquely defined; other methods are needed for quantifying the nonlinear material response under LAOS deformation. In the present review article, we first summarize the typical nonlinear responses observed with complex fluids under LAOS deformations. We then introduce and critically compare several methods that quantify the nonlinear oscillatory stress response. We illustrate the utility and sensitivity of these protocols by investigating the nonlinear response of various complex fluids over a wide range of frequency and amplitude of deformation, and show that LAOS characterization is a rigorous test for rheological models and 3 advanced quality control.

No abstract

No abstract

Chloroplast genome of Solanum commersonii and S olanum tuberosum were completely sequenced, and Indel markers were successfully applied to distinguish chlorotypes demonstrating the chloroplast genome was randomly distributed during protoplast fusion. Somatic hybridization has been widely employed for the introgression of resistance to several diseases from wild Solanum species to overcome sexual barriers in potato breeding. Solanum commersonii is a major resource used as a parent line in somatic hybridization to improve bacterial wilt resistance in interspecies transfer to cultivated potato (S. tuberosum). Here, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genomes of Lz3.2 (S. commersonii) and S. tuberosum (PT56), which were used to develop fusion products, then compared them with those of five members of the Solanaceae family, S. tuberosum, Capsicum annum, S. lycopersicum, S. bulbocastanum and S. nigrum and Coffea arabica as an out-group. We then developed Indel markers for application in chloroplast genotyping. The complete chloroplast genome of Lz3.2 is composed of 155,525 bp, which is larger than the PT56 genome with 155,296 bp. Gene content, order and orientation of the S. commersonii chloroplast genome were highly conserved with those of other Solanaceae species, and the phylogenetic tree revealed that S. commersonii is located within the same node of S. tuberosum. However, sequence alignment revealed nine Indels between S. commersonii and S. tuberosum in their chloroplast genomes, allowing two Indel markers to be developed. The markers could distinguish the two species and were successfully applied to chloroplast genotyping (chlorotype) in somatic hybrids and their progenies. The results obtained in this study confirmed the random distribution of the chloroplast genome during protoplast fusion and its maternal inheritance and can be applied to select proper plastid genotypes in potato breeding program.

No abstract

We have found empirical scaling relations in nonlinear viscoelasticity of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions under large amplitude oscillatory shear flow. The scaling relations superpose dimensionless nonlinear viscoelastic functions, such as the normalized amplitudes of elastic and viscous stresses and normalized Fourier intensities, measured at different strain amplitudes and frequencies on a single curve irrespective of the molecular weight and the concentration of the polymer solutions. The scaling relations reveal that the nonlinear viscoelastic functions are functions of dimensionless variable ζ≡γo cos δ(ω), where δ is the phase lag of linear viscoelasticity. The validity of our superposition was checked for PEO aqueous solutions under the conditions that concentration:3<c/ce<7; molecular weight: 400 kg/mol<M<1000kg/mol; τmω<10. We suggest some material parameters, which are expected to indicate chain architecture as well as to measure the strength of nonlinearity because the parameters are independent of the test conditions and compositions of the polymer solutions.

No abstract

We investigated the rheological behaviors and orientation of three different types of layered silicate composite systems under external flow: microcomposite, intercalated and exfoliated nanocomposites. Rheological measurements under shear and uniaxial extensional flows, two-dimensional, small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy were conducted to investigate the properties, as well as nano-and micro-structural changes, of polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites. The preferred orientation of the silicate layers to the flow direction was observed under uniaxial extensional flow for both intercalated and exfoliated systems, while the strain hardening behavior was observed only in the exfoliated systems. The degree of compatibility between the polymer matrix and clay determined the microstructure of polymer/clay composites, strain hardening behavior and spatial orientation of the clays under extensional flow.