Pronounced fibres are formed through simple shearing of a dense calcium caseinate dispersion. Both mechanical tests and scanning electron microscopy images demonstrate that the material is anisotropic. It is hypothesised that calcium caseinate aggregates, under shear, align into micro-fibres and bundle further into a hierarchical structure. Yet no direct evidence at the sub-micron length scale can support the assumption. Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments were conducted on calcium caseinate samples prepared at different conditions. Analysis of the SANS data revealed that the micro-fibres have a diameter of ∼100nm and a length of ∼300nm. The addition of enzyme and air contributed to longer and thinner micro-fibres. Furthermore, the extent of fibre alignment at the micro-scale and the macroscopic anisotropy index followed the same trends with varying processing conditions. It is concluded that the material does indeed possess a hierarchical structure and the micro-fibres are responsible for the anisotropy on the macro-scale.

中文翻译：

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小角中子散射量化了纤维状酪蛋白酸钙的层次结构

通过简单剪切致密的酪蛋白酸钙分散体形成明显的纤维。机械测试和扫描电子显微镜图像都表明该材料是各向异性的。假设酪蛋白酸钙聚集体在剪切作用下排列成微纤维并进一步成束成分层结构。然而，在亚微米长度尺度上没有直接证据可以支持这一假设。对在不同条件下制备的酪蛋白酸钙样品进行了小角中子散射 (SANS) 实验。SANS 数据分析表明，微纤维的直径约为 100 纳米，长度约为 300 纳米。添加酶和空气有助于形成更长更细的微纤维。此外，微观尺度的纤维排列程度和宏观各向异性指数在不同的加工条件下遵循相同的趋势。得出的结论是，该材料确实具有层次结构，微纤维负责宏观尺度的各向异性。