Viscosity and conductivity measurements for dilute dispersions of rodlike paraffin particles in silicone oil

In the present article, the rheological behavior and thermal conductivity for dispersions of paraffin rods in silicone oil were investigated experimentally by examining the effects of surfactant concentration, particle volume concentration and temperature. The test suspensions at 15°C showed a strong shear-thinning viscosity as the particle concentration increased, whereas the test emulsions at 58°C showed typical Newtonian viscosity behavior. Relative viscosities of the present results agree with the theoretical results for rodlike particle suspensions. Thermal conductivities of the paraffin, silicon oil and mixture were measured with varying temperatures, respectively. Thermal conductivities of paraffin dispersions correlated satisfactorily with the Brailsford-Major equation.