The Society of Rheology 87th Annual Meeting

October 11-15, 2015 - Baltimore, Maryland


PO99 


Poster Session


Eutectic gallium indium rheology


October 14, 2015 (Wednesday) 6:05


Poster Session / Atrium/Harborview

(Click on name to view author profile)

  1. Daalkhaijav, Uranbileg (Oregon State University, Chemical, Biological, Environmental Engineering)
  2. Menguc, Yigit (Oregon State University, Mechanical Engineering)
  3. Walker, Travis W. (Oregon State University, Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering)

(in printed abstract book)
Uranbileg Daalkhaijav1, Yigit Menguc2, and Travis W. Walker1
1Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; 2Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331


Daalkhaijav, Uranbileg


Eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) alloy is a liquid metal at room temperature that can fill microchannels to act as electrical sensors and conducting wires for small electronic systems. EGaIn has a yield stress that, when surpassed, allows the liquid to freely flow to fill the channels and to form a stable structure that is not toxic like mercury would be. This yield stress of the alloy is caused by a gallium oxide skin that forms on the metal extremely quickly when exposed to air. The oxide skin is assumed to be the dominant structure, dictating the rheological behavior of this alloy. Our parallel plate experimental results, which are adjusted for just the oxide skin component of the alloy at the edge of the upper geometry, are consistent with previous findings doing the same measurements. In addition, interfacial rheological measurements using a double-wall ring apparatus show consistent results to the adjusted parallel plate tests, confirming the strength of the oxide layer. From our results, a frequency sweep shows typical gel behavior that is elastically dominated. The oxide layer yields at a stress of approximately 0.3 N/m, then the material flows freely with no further increase in stress and is shown to shear thin.