Study of the gelling of an emulsion

INTRODUCTION Gelling can be obtained through two main mechanisms: creation of a network due to a reticulation of polymers (it is the case for gelatin) or aggregation of particles (it is the case in yogurt). In the cosmetics industry it is commonly used to get various textures (Figure 1). For a given system, adhesive interaction between the drops of emulsions depends on the temperature, the size of the drops, the concentration of salt and the volume fraction of the emulsion. The objective of the formulator can be to identify the interaction at the origin of the aggregation in the emulsion, to characterize the experimental conditions under which it arises or to characterize the gel and the kinetics of its formation, the conditions of its existence, of its stability, etc. We present a few results obtained on a model system.