Abstract
The effect of ionic strength on the viscoelastic behaviour of bentonite dispersion has been investigated and quantified by the elastic modulus (
G′) to insure the fractal nature of the bentonite–water–NaCl gel systems. Whatever the ionic strength of the medium, this rheological parameter followed a scaling law as a function of the bentonite volume fraction. Shih's fractal model (strong-link regime) was used to better fit the experimental data in coagulated and non-coagulated gels. A good agreement between the experimental results at different ionic strength and calculated data was obtained. The fractal dimension (
D) varied with ionic strength and had a minimum value at maximum coagulation which is in agreement with the fractal nature of the bentonite gels.