Temperature control system for a rheometer

复杂流体是既具有粘性又具有弹性的材料，因此在某种意义上它们介于液体和固体之间。这些材料在食品（酸奶、芥末）、个人护理产品（面霜、牙膏）、生物医学材料（伤口敷料、人造组织）和工业材料（木浆、新鲜混凝土和聚合物溶液）中非常重要。我用流变仪研究复杂流体的性质和小尺度结构，流变仪是一种测量它们对施加变形的响应的仪器。该提案是对我们当前流变仪系统的升级，该系统将允许我们研究不同温度下的复杂流体，无论是高于室温还是低于室温。这种额外的能力将使我们能够更好地理解分子或悬浮粒子之间的相互作用，从而赋予这些材料有趣和有用的特性。最终，这种理解可能会导致为特定应用设计具有特定性能的新材料的能力。

Complex fluids are materials which display both viscous and elastic behavior, so they are in a sense intermediate between liquids and solids. Such materials are extremely important as food products (yoghurt, mustard), personal care products (face cream, toothpaste), biomedical materials (wound dressings, artificial tissues) and industrial materials (wood pulp, fresh concrete, and polymer solutions). I study the properties and small-scale structure of complex fluids using a rheometer, an instrument that measures their response to an applied deformation. This proposal is for an upgrade to our current rheometer system that will allow us to study complex fluids at different temperatures, both above and below room temperature. This added capability will enable us to better understand the interactions between molecules or suspended particles that give these materials their interesting and useful properties. Ultimately this understanding could lead to the ability to design new materials with specfic properties for particular applications.