Using the microsoft excel 'solver' tool to perform non-linear curve fitting, using a range of non-Newtonian flow curves as examples

Abstract

The Microsoft Excel 'Solver' tool is a very simple but powerful procedure, even in the hands of the mathematically disadvantaged. It has very good application for quickly fitting experimental flow-curve data to non-Newtonian flow models with any number of parameters, and can cope with data from a number of sources. Examples are given for a range of industrially important examples ranging from standard non-Newtonian liquids, through detergent solutions to gels, pastes, and filled polymer melts, often measured on different viscometers.