Patent ID: 8024962

Claim:
A method of determining one or more bulk rheological properties of a particle laden fluid comprising: (a) providing a system comprising a vessel that comprises at least one of a mixer and an agitator, a pump coupled to the vessel, and a flow-through apparatus coupled to the pump and the vessel, wherein the flow-through apparatus comprises a flow chamber, a bob rotatably disposed within the chamber, wherein the bob comprises an outer geometry adapted for continuous laminar flow in an axial direction, and a gap between the chamber and the bob; (b) pumping the particle laden fluid into the flow-through apparatus; (c) shearing the particle laden fluid within the gap of the flow-through apparatus; (d) developing a laminar flow of the particle laden fluid through the flow-through apparatus in the axial direction while shearing the particle laden fluid within the gap; and (e) collecting data from the bob and observing the particle laden fluid to determine one or more bulk rheological properties of the particle laden fluid.