scope:

This document gives information on an interlaboratory comparison for the determination of the timedependent structural change (thixotropy) using rheological test methods. Thixotropy is the reversible, time-dependent decrease of shear viscosity η at a constant shear rate & or shear stress τ. This document provides examples of fields of application, in which important material properties can be characterized by the thixotropy. These fields of application include: - effectiveness of rheological additives and thixotropic agents, respectively; - stability of the structure at rest (e.g. behaviour when starting to pump); - wet film thickness after processing; - levelling and sagging behaviour (e.g. without brushmarks or sag formation); - orientation of effect pigments.