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Updated: May 30, 2025

Combining Microfluidics and Microrheology to Determine Rheological Properties of Soft Matter during Repeated Phase Transitions
Published on: April 19, 2018
Microrheological model for Kelvin-Voigt materials with micro-heterogeneities
T N Azevedo1, K M Oliveira1, H P Maia1
1Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Av. P. H. Rolfs, s/n, 36570-900 Viçosa, Brazil. lerizzi@ufv.br.
Abstract:
We introduce a generalization of the Kelvin-Voigt model in order to include and characterize heterogeneities in viscoelastic semisolid materials. By considering a microrheological approach, we present analytical expressions for the mean square displacement and for the time-dependent diffusion coefficient of probe particles immersed in a viscoelastic material described by this model. Besides validating our theoretical approach through Brownian dynamics simulations, we show how the model can be used to describe experimental data obtained for polyacrylamide and LAPONITE® gels.
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