High frequency parallel plate probe for the measurement of the complex viscosity of liquids

In this work an instrument is described which measures the complex shear viscosity of liquids in the kHz frequency range. The instrument is driven electromagnetically and operates in resonant mode. The measurement of the primary data, from which the rheological properties of the fluid sample are inferred, does not include any deflection amplitude measuring step and is purely digital. Models allowing the interpretation of the probe primary data in terms of fluid complex viscosity are presented. The theoretically predicted mechanical behaviour of the probe is compared with the measured one and the rheometric ability of the device is discussed.