Split rheometer Couette attachment to enable sample extraction

We report on the development of a Couette attachment insert for a rheometer, which is designed to split in half, enabling intact sample extraction of cocoa butter crystallized from the melt under known dynamic stress conditions. This cell is capable of producing a sample 1 mm thick. At shear rates of 90-720 s(-1) and final temperatures of 18-20 degreesC it was shown that the sample will completely separate from the cell surface intact. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.