Effect of Concentration and Temperature on Rheological Behaviour of Polystyrene Solution

This article addresses the rheological properties of various concentration of polystyrene solution at different temperatures. Xylene was used as a solvent to make different concentration of polystyrene solution (5, 10 and 15 wt%). The rheological characteristics were carried out at various temperatures (20, 30 and 40 degrees C) and the shear rate was varied from 0.1 to 100 s(-1). The obtained results clearly demonstrate that the solution rheology is influenced by shear rate, solution concentration and testing temperature. It is also observed that for the studied temperatures, the viscosity of polystyrene solution rapidly decreases with increasing shear rate from 0.1 to 16 s(-1). In order to elucidate the rheological behavior, different rheological models such as Power law, Herschel-Bulkley, Casson, Sisko, Cross and Carreau model were used to determine the flow characteristics of the polystyrene solutions. According to regression coefficient and Bias factor analysis, it can be concluded that Herschel-Bulkley model describes well for 5 wt% solution, whereas Cross model provides the best fit for 10 and 15 wt% polymer solution.