XVIIth International Congress of Rheology

by John Duffy, Sunday, 7th August 2016

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We have been waiting four years for this global event to return but it’s finally here. No, not the Olympics but the 17th International Congress of Rheology!

Like the Olympics this event is held every four years with the last one being held in Lisbon, Portugal in 2012 and this time in Kyoto, Japan. The event starts on 8th August and runs until the 13th August and brings together the world’s leading rheologists to present the latest advances and developments in this expanding field.

There are 19 sessions, covering both pure and applied rheology on subjects including…

  • Materials Processing
  • Suspensions, Colloids and Granular Materials
  • Food Rheology
  • Bio-related Rheology
  • Surfactants, Emulsions, and Foams
  • Polymeric Systems

Malvern Instruments will be there in force with rheology specialists from across the globe, including Akinari Minegishi (Japan), Kai Yang (China), Fred Mazzeo (US), Shona Murphy (UK) and Mats Larsson (Sweden). On display will be our Kinexus Ultra+ (rotational rheometer), the Rosand RH2000 (capillary rheometer) and the Zetasizer Nano ZSP (particle size/zeta potential/microrheology).

We have two oral presentations at the event…

  • Simulating food mastication by applying Integrated ‘compression– shear–decompression’ cycles using a rotational rheometer (joint with University of Massachusetts)
  • Using DLS-microrheology and Raman spectroscopy to probe self-assembly and gelation mechanisms in complex fluids

and three posters, which we will be posting on our website shortly for those who cannot attend the event.

  • Simple method for determining stress and strain constants for non-standard measuring systems on a rotational rheometer
  • Determining viscoelastic moduli from creep compliance through application of the generalized Stokes-Einstein relation and Burgers model
  • Rheological measurements of biopolymers in simulated gastric fluid using PEEK geometries (joint with Huddersfield University)

Malvern will be sponsoring the coffee break, but also running a competition where delegates will get the chance to win a Sony smartwatch if they can guess the viscosity of our ‘mystery fluid’. We also have Kinexus key rings made out of Lego to give away for anyone who registers at the Malvern booth –  a must for any serious rheologist!

Conferences can be hard graft, especially for those setting-up, tending, and breaking down the booth at the end of the show, but it’s not all hard work. Surprisingly rheologists know how to enjoy themselves (I was witness to that at the beach party in Lisbon 4 year ago!) and this year there are two ‘beer parties’ scheduled during the week. Looks like Malvern coffee will be in high demand!

For those attending… enjoy the coffee, enjoy the beer, enjoy the talks and posters…but don’t forget to come and see us at the Malvern booth to say hello!

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