Experimental and simulative determination and correction of the effective gap extension in structured coaxial measuring systems

The use of structured measuring systems to prevent wall slip is a common approach to obtain absolute rheological values. Typically, only the minimum distance between the measuring surfaces is used for further calculation, implying that no flow occurs between the structural elements. But this assumption is misleading, and a gap correction is necessary. To determine the radius correction \(\Delta r\) for specific geometries, we conducted investigations on three Newtonian fluids (two silicon oils and one suspension considered to be Newtonian in the relevant shear rate range). The results show that \(\Delta r\) is not only shear- and material-independent, but geometry-dependent, providing a Newtonian flow behaviour in a similar viscosity range. Therefore, a correction value can be determined with only minute deviations in different Newtonian fluids. As the conducted laboratory measurements are very time-consuming and expensive, a CFD-approach with only very small deviations was additionally developed and compared for validation purposes. Therefore, simulation is an effective and resource-efficient alternative to the presented laboratory measurements to determine \(\Delta r\) for the correction of structured coaxial geometries even for non-Newtonian fluids in the future.