5. General conclusion

Understanding and mastering rheology, the science of the deformation and flow of matter, are essential keys to formulation science and engineering (product science and engineering). The fundamental and conventional approaches of so-called "classical" rheology, based on the determination of phenomenological laws of behavior and the classification of systems according to these laws, and, more recently, on the prediction of rheological behavior based on the microscopic properties of systems (rheo-physical approach) or on a fundamental approach to the structure-properties relationships of polymers (molecular rheology approach), a global or systemic approach has been added, which enables us to integrate the conditions or stresses prevailing during the production, packaging and use processes of complex formulated systems. This global or systemic approach in no way replaces the other approaches,...