The influence of ultrasound (US) on the viscosity of aqueous slurry composing polyacrylic acid (PAA) and alumina was studied. For exposure to an aqueous slurry solution, US waves emitted at three different frequencies of 28, 45, and 100 kHz were used. Results show that the stimulus effect of US on viscosity change was a breakage of the hydrogen bonding networks of alumina and PAA in the slurry solution. That decrease in viscosity was enhanced strongly by US exposure as the output power was increased from 175 to 300 W. In addition, a lower US frequency was effective for slurry viscosity reduction. The reduced viscosity of the slurry also depended on the solution pH. After US was stopped, the viscosity increased gradually and recovered to its original value within about 15 min. The stimulus effect on the viscosity change was cycled by US.

No abstract

Ultrasound (US) was used to change the shear viscosity of an aqueous solution of copolymers having acrylic acid (AA) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) segments. The US effect on the shear viscosity of the copolymers containing 10, 50 and 90 mol% of the NIPAM group having thermo-responsible property was examined when the US was exposed to the aqueous solution at different temperatures. The shear viscosity of the solution had a significant change at about 30-35°C when the viscosity was measured in the range of 0-60°C. While, the viscosity decreased with the increase of the temperature, the US operated at 28, 45 and 100 kHz also induced significant reduction of the shear viscosity. Evidence of the US effect on the shear viscosity reduction was observed by measurement of FT-IR spectra of the copolymer solution when the US was exposed. It was noted that considerable change of the spectra at the 28 kHz US was observed relative to that of the 45 and 100 kHz US. The tendency of the change in the shear viscosity and IR spectra was almost similar. Furthermore, the shear viscosity and IR spectra changed gradually to recover its original value as the US was stopped. This was due to the breaking and reformation of the hydrogen bonding between NIPAM and AA segments when the US was exposed and stopped, respectively.