---
title: Rheology
description: Rheology studies how matter flows and deforms, covering the non-Newtonian behaviour of polymers, suspensions, gels, and biological fluids. You will understand viscoelasticity, constitutive models, and the measurements used to characterize complex fluids.
category: engineering
subcategory: materials-science
difficulty: intermediate, advanced
url: /subject/rheology
---

# Rheology

Rheology studies how matter flows and deforms, covering the non-Newtonian behaviour of polymers, suspensions, gels, and biological fluids. You will understand viscoelasticity, constitutive models, and the measurements used to characterize complex fluids.

## Available Resources

3 Books • 2 Courses • 1 Papers

## Papers

### 1. Experimental Challenges of Shear Rheology: How to Avoid Bad Data

**Author:** Randy H. Ewoldt, Michael T. Johnston, Lucas M. Caretta

Book chapter on where rotational rheometer data goes wrong: instrument torque and inertia limits, sample loading, slip, evaporation, secondary flows. Use it to bound the credible region of your own data before publishing it.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://ewoldt.mechanical.illinois.edu/files/2025/08/Ewoldt-PREPRINT-Springer-Chapter-Experimental-rheology-challenges-2014-07-25ErrataMarked-vB.pdf

**Tags:** shear-rheology, rheometry, experimental-methods, measurement-error, rotational-rheometers

## Courses

### 1. Rheology of Complex Materials (NPTEL)

Twelve-week video course from IIT Madras linking microstructure to non-Newtonian behaviour: stress and strain-rate tensors, rheometric flows, viscoelastic models, polymers, suspensions, yield-stress and thixotropic fluids.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://nptel.ac.in/courses/103106131

**Tags:** non-newtonian-fluids, viscoelasticity, complex-fluids, rheometry, suspensions

### 2. CM4650 Polymer Rheology — Complete Course Materials

**Author:** Faith A. Morrison

Complete graduate polymer rheology course from Michigan Tech: forty-one lecture decks building tensors, standard flows, material functions, generalized Newtonian and Maxwell-type constitutive equations, plus rheometry, homework and exams.

**Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://pages.mtu.edu/~fmorriso/cm4650/cm4650.html

**Tags:** polymer-rheology, constitutive-equations, material-functions, rheometry, tensors

## Books

### 1. The Structure and Rheology of Complex Fluids

**Author:** Ronald G. Larson

Connects microstructure to flow behaviour for polymer melts, colloidal suspensions, emulsions, foams, gels and liquid crystals. Worked problems throughout. Read it when you need to explain why a material is shear-thinning, not merely measure it.

**Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/019512197X?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** complex-fluids, microstructure, polymer-melts, colloidal-suspensions, liquid-crystals

### 2. Rheology: Principles, Measurements, and Applications

**Author:** Christopher W. Macosko

The reference practitioners keep on the bench. Covers constitutive equations, shear and extensional rheometer design, error sources, and applications to polymer melts, solutions and suspensions, so you can design and defend a measurement.

**Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471185752?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** rheometry, constitutive-equations, extensional-rheology, polymer-rheology, suspensions

### 3. An Introduction to Rheology

**Author:** H.A. Barnes, J.F. Hutton, K. Walters

The standard first book on rheology: viscosity, linear viscoelasticity, normal stresses and extensional flow explained with minimal mathematics. After reading it you can interpret flow curves, name the main non-Newtonian effects and choose sensible measurements. Deliberately light on tensor calculus, so it is the one book an engineer can read cold before touching Macosko.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0444871403?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** rheology-fundamentals, viscosity, linear-viscoelasticity, non-newtonian-fluids, extensional-flow

---

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