The rheological properties of a product can influence how it is visually and texturally perceived by a consumer and how it is likely to behave during product use. For example very shear thinning materials will be highly responsive to changes in applied stress while Newtonian materials will show much lesser dependence. Such a response is important when considering the ease of spreading or ‘spread-ability’.
The process of spreading causes a consequent reduction in the layer thickness as it is distributed over a wider surface area. Since shear rate is equal to the applied velocity divided by the layer thickness, spreading can therefore not be attributed to a single shear rate.
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