GReo

The Rheology Group (GReo) of PUC-Rio was founded in 1995 to fill the need for scientific research potentially useful in industrial applications. Its main goals are to train highly qualified personnel, both at graduate and under-graduate level, and to conduct scientific research potentially useful in industrial applications. Our group is composed of highly qualified personnel, including faculty, research engineers, technicians, and students at undergraduate and graduate levels (MS and PhD). Our activities include the development of research projects on important scientific and technological challenges, which deal mainly with flows of non-Newtonian fluids such as polymeric liquids (polymer melts and polymeric solutions), suspensions (e.g. pastes, muds, cements), emulsions (e.g. water-in-oil, mayonnaise) and foams. These research projects aim at contributing to the advancement of knowledge that is needed for removing technological barriers which hinder the improvement of industrial processes. For example, in the petroleum industry, processes such as well drilling and completion involve the flow, displacement, and substitution of non-Newtonian liquids. Very often the mechanical behavior of the liquids involved is viscoplastic, as is the case of the emulsions and suspensions. During these processes, there is the occurrence of several phenomena that are far from being well understood and that, not infrequently, are central to the success of the process itself. Some of these phenomena are the subject of GReo’s research activities. These research activities often involve theoretical, experimental, and numerical work aiming at better understanding the flow of non-Newtonian fluids through the different geometries that are representative of the processes of interest.