A new, simple, formulation that describes capillary thinning as predicted by a two-mode Giesekus model is derived, and its application in analyzing data from extensional rheometry (capillary thinning) experiments is discussed. An algorithm is presented that can be used to fit the expressions obtained from the Giesekus model to extensional rheometry data. Examples of data fitting are given for an idealized data set, for measurements obtained for aqueous solutions of 6 wt % 900,000 molecular weight polyethylene oxide, and for biological fluids obtained from pitchers of Nepenthes Rafflesiana. Good fits to the data were obtained, with coefficients of determination in excess of 0.98. For each data set, it was possible to calculate values of extensional viscosity and relaxation time for each of the two modes, allowing quantitative comparison of different fluids or of the same fluid as it ages.

Extensional shear testing is often needed to characterise the behaviour of complex fluids found in industry and nature. Traditional extensional rheometers are typically expensive, fragile and heavy and are only suited to making measurements in a laboratory environment. For some applications, it is necessary to make in-situ rheological measurements where, for example, fluid properties change rapidly over time or where laboratory facilities are unavailable. This paper reports the development and validation of an inexpensive, lightweight and robust 'open source' extensional rheometer, Seymour II. Validation was carried out experimentally and computationally. Measurements on a Newtonian fluid (492 mPa s Brookfield silicone oil) yielded results of 510 ± 51 mPa s; these are comfortably within the range of ±10 % which other authors have quoted for extensional techniques using laboratory rheometers. Comparison of the observed filament thinning dynamics to those obtained using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) gave good qualitative agreement. Use of Seymour II at the University of Cambridge Botanic Gardens revealed that the mucilage of the 'Crane flower', Strelitzia reginae, was a viscoelastic fluid whose extensional response could be described by a two-mode Giesekus equation. Engineering drawings and image analysis code for Seymour II are available for download at the project website, http://www.seymourII.org/