A multi-axis confocal rheoscope for studying shear flow of structured fluids

摘要

We present a new design for a confocal rheoscope that enables uniformuniaxial or biaxial shear. The design consists of two precisely-positionedparallel plates with a gap that can be adjusted down to 2$\pm$0.1 \mu m,allowing for the exploration of confinement effects. By using our shear cell inconjunction with a biaxial force measurement device and a high-speed confocalmicroscope, we are able to measure the real-time biaxial stress whilesimultaneously imaging the material 3D structure. We illustrate the importanceof the instrument capabilities by discussing the applications of thisinstrument in current and future research topics in colloidal suspensions.