抄録
The present contribution reports on the preliminary rheological investigations concerning influence of high hydrostatic pressure on the molecular structure of non-covalently bond gels on an example of gelatin. For the purpose of the study a torsional shear wave rheometer for in-situ investigations of viscoelastic substances under high pressure was developed. Small amplitude vibrations generated by piezoelectric elements are used to determine the storage and loss moduli of the investigated medium. The system is able to stand pressures up to 300 MPa.
Preliminary experiments carried out on the gelification of household gelatin (0,1 w/w aqueous solution) revealed the nature of the gel building process under pressures of 100 MPa and 200 MPa to be analogous to that at atmospheric pressure. However, the values G' obtained for the gels curing under elevated pressures were observed to be higher than at ambient conditions. The increased number of triple helix junction zones is hypothesised to be the cause of this phenomenon.
