Rheology of bidisperse suspensions at the colloidal-to-granular transition

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Li, Xuan, Royer, John R., Ness, Christopher
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Li, Xuan
Royer, John R.
Ness, Christopher
author_facet Li, Xuan
Royer, John R.
Ness, Christopher
contents We use particle-based simulation to study the rheology of dense suspensions comprising mixtures of small colloids and larger grains, which exhibit shear thinning at low shear rates and shear thickening at high shear rates. By systematically varying the volume fraction of the two species, we demonstrate a monotonic increase in viscosity when grains are added to colloids, but, conversely, a nonmonotonic response in both the viscosity and shear thickening onset when colloids are added to grains. Both effects are most prominent at intermediate shear rates where diffusion and convection play similar roles in the dynamics. We rationalise these results by measuring the maximum flowable volume fraction as functions of the Peclet number and composition, showing that in extreme cases increasing the solids content can allow a jammed suspension to flow. These results establish a constitutive description for the rheology of bidisperse suspensions across the colloidal-to-granular transition, with implications for flow prediction and control in multicomponent particulate systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_05571
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Rheology of bidisperse suspensions at the colloidal-to-granular transition
Li, Xuan
Royer, John R.
Ness, Christopher
Soft Condensed Matter
We use particle-based simulation to study the rheology of dense suspensions comprising mixtures of small colloids and larger grains, which exhibit shear thinning at low shear rates and shear thickening at high shear rates. By systematically varying the volume fraction of the two species, we demonstrate a monotonic increase in viscosity when grains are added to colloids, but, conversely, a nonmonotonic response in both the viscosity and shear thickening onset when colloids are added to grains. Both effects are most prominent at intermediate shear rates where diffusion and convection play similar roles in the dynamics. We rationalise these results by measuring the maximum flowable volume fraction as functions of the Peclet number and composition, showing that in extreme cases increasing the solids content can allow a jammed suspension to flow. These results establish a constitutive description for the rheology of bidisperse suspensions across the colloidal-to-granular transition, with implications for flow prediction and control in multicomponent particulate systems.
title Rheology of bidisperse suspensions at the colloidal-to-granular transition
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.05571