Rheophysics

This book presents a unified view of the physical-chemical origin of the mechanical behaviour of gases, simple solids and liquids, suspensions, polymers, emulsions, foams, granular materials, along with their techniques for measuring the behaviour. Beside molecular matters in all their classical gaseous, solid or liquid states we deal daily with a number of materials made of coarser elements such as polymers, cells, grains, bubbles, droplets. They take on the familiar appearance of paints, inks, cement, mud, foams, emulsions, toothpastes, gels, etc. These materials exhibit complex structures and sometimes amazing types of mechanical behaviours, often intermediate between that of a simple liquid and that of a simple solid. In a practical way the aim is to analyze their internal evolutions (aging, restructuring, phase separation, etc), then to formulate these materials in accordance with the wanted properties, and eventually to devise new materials. In that aim it is critical to understand how these materials deform or flow depending on the interactions and structures formed by the elements they contain.§This book is intended for students as well as more advanced researchers in mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology. The mathematical formalism is reduced in order to focus on the physical explanations of the phenomena.