| The objectives of this thesis are to show that a squeeze rheometer, called the Polymer Adhesion Test System (PATS), can operate as a rheometer in which the viscometric material functions can be measured at the higher rates of the fusing process, and that PATS can operate as an adhesion/cohesion test device to measure such properties as surface energy and local tensile stress. The squeezing flow of viscoelastic materials between two parallel plates is studied theoretically and experimentally. This type of flow is directly applicable to analyze the rheological characteristics of the viscoelastic materials such as toner materials. In copiers and printers, fusing of the toner to the substrate is a process dependent on the rheological properties of the toner.; In order to understand the rheological properties of this viscoelastic material from a theoretical perspective, small oscillatory motion of an arbitrary material model is analyzed, and experiments are conducted with PATS on viscoelastic materials in small oscillatory squeezing flow. For the adhesion properties, small strain squeezing flow of a Newtonian fluid with adhesion is considered.; Comparison of the experimental results of the PATS with those of a commercial rheometer shows a good agreement. The present theological and experimental studies validate the PATS device as a viscoelastic rheometer. |
