Sensor set to monitor rheology during production of liquids

‘Companies that make liquid products need to know how the liquids will behave in different circumstances because these different behaviours can affect the texture, the taste or even the smell of a product,’ said Dr Julia Rees from the university’s Department of Applied Mathematics.

According to a statement, the viscosity of most liquids changes under different conditions and designers often use mathematical equations to determine what these changes might be.

The team from Sheffield has now developed a way of predicting these changes using a non-invasive sensor system that the liquid flows through. The sensor feeds information back through an electronic device that calculates a range of likely behaviours.

Dr Rees explained: ‘Measuring the individual components of a liquid’s viscosity is called rheometry. We can produce equations to measure a liquid’s total viscosity, but the rheology of most liquids is very complicated.

‘Instead, we look at properties in a liquid that we can measure easily and then apply maths to calculate the viscosity. The sensor device we have developed will be able to make these calculations for companies using a straightforward testing process.’