Polymer Chemistry

Rheology and Rheometry

Rheometry is a critical research and development tool that helps Nye chemists and engineers better understand and characterize the properties of our existing products so that we can more precisely recommend ones that are likely to meet a customer's specific needs. In a Newtonian fluid, the relation between the shear stress and the shear rate is linear, passing through the origin, the constant of proportionality being the coefficient of viscosity. In a non-Newtonian fluid, the relation between the shear stress and the shear rate is different. Food rheology is the study of the rheological properties of food, that is, the consistency and flow of food under tightly specified conditions. Rheological characterization tools, such as viscometers, allow drug producers to directly affect how a drug is formulated and developed, cutting across parameters and conditions to arrive at product characteristics that can be quantified.