Rheology for Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies

The processing and manufacturing industry uses increasingly complex fluids and processes that require a deeper understanding of the flow behaviour of the materials, and better control of their rheological properties. The complexity is often caused by the use of raw materials from multiple novel sources, such as industrial side streams (e.g., lignin, bark or straw). On the other hand, the drive to improve resource efficiency and thus reduce energy and raw material consumption has brought challenges in the handling and processing of materials, especially at high solids concentrations. In addition, new manufacturing technologies and products e.g., from the forestry, battery, food, and textile industries and additive manufacturing pose new challenges for a deeper understanding and control of the flow and rheological properties of the materials being processed. Efficient processing of increasingly complex materials will thus play an important role in the future economy. However, the current knowledge of the rheological behaviour of the processed materials is often inadequate due to a lack of suitable experimental methods. In addition, in Finnish universities, training in fluid mechanics or similar fields is very limited. This in turn has led to a skills shortage in companies operating in Finland. The research project under preparation will address this challenge by creating a consortium with capabilities to develop and deploy new advanced rheological measurement techniques and analytical methods, leading to better control of existing technologies and enabling the development of new key technologies to improve industrial processes, equipment, and products.