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Fluidisation of chocolate under vibration
[Thesis]. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester; 2015.
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Abstract
The aim of this thesis was to understand how a non-Newtonian fluid like chocolate fluidises under vibration. The problem was approached both experimentally and computationally, employing the finite element method as implemented in oomph-lib. In order to model a non-Newtonian fluid its constitutive behaviour has to be known. For this purpose, rheological measurements on tempered chocolate were performed. The chocolate was modelled using generalised Newtonian models for the viscosity and it was found that the Sisko model provided the best fit to the data. The generalised Newtonian Navier-Stokes equations were implemented within oomph-lib and their validation against analytical solutions yielded excellent agreement. Both the experiments and the computations for a sessile drop of chocolate, which is vibrated vertically, spreading on a layer of the same fluid yielded qualitatively similar results. The parameter which controls the spreading is the acceleration arising from the vibration. The drop rests on the layer and does not spread under gravity and small accelerations. However, as the acceleration increases and exceeds a threshold the drop starts to spread out. For a constant amplitude vibration, the spreading rate increases with increasing frequency and for large frequencies approaches a theoretical spreading law which corresponds to viscous dominated spreading of a Newtonian drop.