AbstractGels, formed by suspending cellulose acetate particles of regular shape and size in a Newtonian medium, were sheared in a rotational viscometer to study their time dependent rheological behavior. Qualitative observations of the effect of the well defined particle parameters, shape surface area and concentration on the flow parameters were made.The viscosity decay behavior fitted the model previously proposed by Pinder for slurries of natural particles.By considering the effect of the weighting salt used in the suspending medium, it was found that the theory that ionic forces are active in stabilizing the thixotropic gel structure was supported.