The application of a finite shear to a system after a long rest may result in a decrease of the
viscosity or the
consistency. If the decrease persists when the shear is discontinued, this behaviour is called work softening (or
shear breakdown), whereas if the original
viscosity or
consistency is recovered this behaviour is called
thixotropy.
Source:
PAC, 1979, 51, 1213
(Manual of symbols and terminology for physicochemical quantities and units. Appendix II: Definitions, terminology and symbols in colloid and surface chemistry. Part 1.13. Selected definitions, terminology and symbols for rheological properties)
on page 1217
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A.Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997). XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
doi:10.1351/goldbook.
