Shear Thickening Fluids Based on Additives with Different Concentrations and Molecular Chain Lengths

Shear thickening fluids (STFs) based on additives with different concentrations and molecular chain lengths were investigated. STF samples were prepared with silica and additive dispersed in polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400, where three types of additives with different molecular chain lengths of PEG4000, PEG6000, and PEG10000 were used. For PEG10000, different concentrations, including 0, 1%, 3%, and 5%, were selected to study the influences of additive concentrations. Rheological properties of the samples were measured with a rheometer. The results show that the shear thickening effect was significantly enhanced with the increase of the concentration and the molecular chain length of additives. The mechanism of enhancement was quantitatively explained with the formation of large particles clusters.