Effect of shear on concentrated hydrous ferric floc rheology

The primary interest of this work is to determine the effect of continuous shear, variable shear rate, and shear history on concentrated hydrous ferric floc rheology. The floc suspensions are strongly shear degrading with the behaviour being adequately described by a power law model. This is supported by images of the floc particles, which indicate a breakdown in floc structure, with the release of water and formation of smaller particles, after the application of shear. A shear rate sweep of the sample produces a hysteresis loop due to the time dependency of the samples. Higher shear rates are shown to destroy more structure, resulting in an overall decrease in floc viscosity. This is irreversible, and occurs due to a breakdown in floc structure to release trapped water and produce smaller floc particles. Shear also causes an instantaneous reduction in viscosity. This effect is instantaneously recoverable, and is due to a decrease in floc particle aggregation. Floc behaviour within the shear rate range 20–250 s−1 is also adequately modelled by the Sisko model.