Tribological and Rheological Characterization of Ballpoint Pen Inks

One often notices droplets of ink off the tip of a ballpoint pen after writing continuously for a few minutes. These droplets usually lead to unwanted blots on the paper, and on occasions, also get our fingers dirty. This effect is influenced at least by a couple of factors. These include precision of the ball and socket assembly and the tribological and rheological behavior of the ink under the given conditions. For instance, a decrease in the viscosity of the ink either due to shear or temperature could cause more ink to flow through the clearance between the socket and the ball. Also, fatigue of the ball-socket mechanism could lead to such momentary increases in ink flow.

Introduction

One often notices droplets of ink off the tip of a ballpoint pen after writing continuously for a few minutes. These droplets usually lead to unwanted blots on the paper, and on occasions, also get our fingers dirty. This effect is influenced at least by a couple of factors. These include precision of the ball and socket assembly, and the tribological and rheological behavior of the ink under the given conditions. For instance, a decrease in the viscosity of the ink either due to shear or temperature could cause more ink to flow through the clearance between the socket and the ball. Also, fatigue of the ball-socket mechanism could lead to such momentary increases in ink flow.

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