Determination of axial forces during the capillary breakup of liquid filaments – the tilted CaBER method

The capillary breakup extensional rheometry (CaBER) is a versatile method to characterize the elongational behavior of low-viscosity fluids. Commonly, data evaluation is based on the assumption of zero normal stress in axial direction (\(\upsigma_{\rm zz}=0\)). In this paper, we present a simple method to determine the axial force using a CaBER device rotated by 90° and analyzing the deflection of the filament due to gravity. Forces in the range of 0.1–1,000 μN could be assessed. Our study includes experimental investigations of Newtonian fructose solutions and silicon oil mixtures (viscosity range, 0.9–60 Pa s) and weakly viscoelastic polyethylene oxide (PEO, \(M_{\rm w}=10^{6}\) g/mol) solutions covering a concentration range from c ≈ c* (critical overlap concentration) up to c > c _e (entanglement concentration). Papageorgiou’s solution for the stress ratio \(\upsigma_{\rm zz}/\upsigma_{\rm rr}\) in Newtonian fluids during capillary thinning is experimentally confirmed, but the widely accepted assumption of vanishing axial stress in weakly viscoelastic fluids is not fulfilled for PEO solutions, if c _e is exceeded.