Four researchers from the Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology are recognized for developing an innovative
strategy to analyze and formulate complex
fluids
MELVILLE, N.Y., July 22,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Norbert
Willenbacher, Claude
Oelschlaeger, Jonas Marten,
and Florian Péridont have been selected to receive the 2024 Journal
of Rheology Publication Award for their research article,
"Imaging of the microstructure of Carbopol dispersions and
correlation with their macroelasticity: A micro- and
macrorheological study,"
The award is conferred annually for the best paper in the
preceding two years appearing in the Journal of
Rheology (JOR), which is published by AIP Publishing for the
Society of Rheology (SOR). The winners, who are affiliated
with the Applied Mechanics Research Group from the Institute of
Mechanical Process Engineering and Mechanics at the Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, Germany, will receive a monetary
award and special recognition at the SOR Annual Meeting.
"The winning paper introduces the groundbreaking
Micro-Rheo-Mapping technique, a new data analysis strategy
developed by the Applied Mechanics Research Group," said JOR
Editor-in-Chief Dr. Dimitris
Vlassopoulos. "It is based on multiparticle tracking
micro-rheology experiments to obtain accurate and direct
visualizations of the microstructure of complex fluids, taking
advantage of a large amount of information usually discarded in
particle tracking data analysis."
"All members of our team are proud of receiving this award as it
confirms that our research is broadly appreciated and recognized by
the Rheology community," said Prof. Dr. Willenbacher, who serves as
the head of the Institute of Mechanical Process Engineering and
Mechanics at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology since 2004. "We
are proud that we have further developed and pushed an important,
almost 30-year-old experimental method that was stuck in an
increasingly complex statistical data analysis, ignoring most of
the collected information. "
"We employed the new strategy to analyze local structural and
viscoelastic heterogeneities of Carbopol® solutions and
gels which allowed us to establish a correlation between
microstructure and macroelasticity for this widely used class of
commercial acrylate thickeners as a function of pH and polymer
concentration," he added.
According to Prof. Dr. Willenbacher, the imaging is based on a
'rheological contrast', i.e. the different local viscoeleastic
properties embedded tracer particles experience in a heterogeneous
fluid. He explained the method provides a direct image of the fluid
structure and local viscoelasticity on a 0.1 to 100 micrometer
length scale and noted that it even works for materials visually
appearing fully transparent.
Building on their findings, the Applied Mechanics group has
already conducted research using the newly developed method to:
- Design hydrogels for extrusion-based 3D bioprinting gaining
high shape accuracy and cell viability;
- Investigate the rich phase behavior of concentrated colloidal
gels with superimposed short range electro-steric repulsion and
weak depletion attraction; and
- Use the microstructural insights gained from their Carbopol
investigations for the design of binders for energy storage
materials.
Prof. Dr. Willenbacher received his diploma degree in
Physics and his PhD from the University of Mainz. After his
dissertation at the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in
1990 he joined BASF SE as a research associate in the fields of
rheology of complex fluids and adhesion of soft polymers for 15
years. He served as president of the German Society of Rheology
from 2006 to 2019 and now is member of its advisory board. He is
member of the Editorial Board of Materials and Electronic
Materials, previously he also served as a member of the Editorial
Board of Rheologica Acta and as Section Editor of Current Opinion
in Colloid and Interface Science.
Dr. Oelschlaeger received his diploma degree in Physical
Chemistry and his PhD in Physics from the University of
Strasbourg (France). After his dissertation based on
rheology and light scattering of surfactant solutions, he joined
the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz as a postdoc
working on method development and non-linear rheology of block
copolymers for two years. Since 2007, he is member of the German
Society of Rheology.
ABOUT THE JOURNAL OF RHEOLOGY PUBLICATION AWARD
Each
year, the Society of Rheology (SOR) offers the Journal of
Rheology Publication Award to the best paper published
during the preceding two years. First presented in 1994, the award
includes special recognition at the Annual Meeting of the Society
of Rheology and a monetary prize. This award was first presented in
1994.
ABOUT THE SOCIETY OF RHEOLOGY
The Society of Rheology
(SOR) is composed of physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers,
and mathematicians interested in advancing and applying rheology,
which is defined as the science of deformation and flow of matter.
The Journal of Rheology, which is published by AIP
Publishing on behalf of SOR, is a vital resource for
researchers working in fields as diverse as polymer physics and
fluid mechanics. It presents experimental results, phenomenological
models, and microscopic theories dealing with the rheological
behavior of complex materials, including macromolecular, colloidal
and particulate solids, and fluids. Application areas include
foods, paints, plastics, lubricants, ceramics, coatings, glaciers,
and biological fluids.
ABOUT AIP PUBLISHING
AIP Publishing's mission is to
advance, promote, and serve the physical sciences for the benefit
of humanity by breaking barriers to open, equitable research
communication and empowering researchers to accelerate global
progress. AIP Publishing is a wholly owned not-for-profit
subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and supports
the charitable, scientific, and educational purposes of AIP through
scholarly publishing activities on its behalf and on behalf of our
publishing partners.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/society-of-rheology-announces-winners-of-the-2024-journal-of-rheology-publication-award-302202839.html
SOURCE AIP Publishing