The application of a finite shear to a system after a long rest may result in a decrease
of the
viscosity or the
consistency. If the decrease persists when the shear is discontinued, this behaviour is called
work softening (or shear breakdown), whereas if the original
viscosity or
consistency is recovered this behaviour is called thixotropy.
Source:
PAC, 1979, 51, 1213
(Manual of symbols and terminology for physicochemical quantities and units. Appendix
II: Definitions, terminology and symbols in colloid and surface chemistry. Part 1.13.
Selected definitions, terminology and symbols for rheological properties)
on page 1217