%0 Journal Article %A Bataineh , Khaled M. %D 2012 %I Begell House %N 5 %P 448-465 %R 10.1615/InterJFluidMechRes.v39.i5.60 %T Edge Effect in Cone and Plate Rheometer %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/71cb29ca5b40f8f8,1d542bee45211141,498c29006b62c150.html %V 39 %X This paper investigates theoretically and numerically the influence of the edge effect on rheological measurements in cone-plate rheometer. Theoretical discussion for the flow generated by the slow steady rotation of a cone in Newtonian fluid confined by stationary plate is presented. Due to the complicated shape of the boundary, analytical methods cannot be utilized, hence we propose a numerical procedure to solve the problem. The complex flow behavior between finite rotating cone and stationary plate is modeled using the computational Fluid Dynamic software package Fluent 6.3. Equations of motion for steady, axisymmetric, isothermal flow of incompressible Newtonian fluid coupled with continuity equation are solved numerically. The influence of edge effect on flow charac-teristics as a function of cone radius, gap angle, and angular speed is numerically studied. It is shown that the infinite cone and plate assumption is valid for a gap angle of less than 5°. It is also shown that the error in torque measurement due to edge effect is less that 5 % for a gap angle equals or less than 5° up to Reynolds number Re = ΩR2/v less than 860. Also, when Re is less than 86 for all gap angles studied, the maximum error in torque due to edge effect is less than 5 %. Also, it is shown that reducing the radius of the cone successfully allows the device to be used for high shear rates while maintain acceptable errors. A new definition of Reynolds number that includes gap angle is proposed. The values of the modified Reynolds number successfully characterize the flow regime. Finally, the presented numerical models have been verified against experimental results. %8 2013-01-03