We report direct measurements of spatially resolved surface stresses over the entire surface of a dense suspension during discontinuous shear thickening (DST) using Boundary Stress Microscopy (BSM) in a parallel-plate rheometer. We find that large fluctuations in the bulk rheological response at the onset of DST are the result of localized transitions to a state with very high stress, consistent with a fully jammed solid that makes direct contact with the shearing boundaries. That jammed solid like phase (SLP) is rapidly fractured, producing two separate SLPs that propagate in opposite directions. By comparing the speed of propagation of the SLPs with the motion of the confining plates, we deduce that one remains in contact with the bottom boundary, and another remains in contact with the top. These regions grow, bifurcate, and eventually interact and decay in a complex manner that depends on the measurement conditions (constant shear rate vs constant stress). In constant applied stress mode, BSM directly reveals dramatic stress fluctuations that are completely missed in standard bulk rheology.
We report on rheometry measurements to characterize critical behavior in two model shear thickening suspensions: cornstarch in water and glass spheres in oil. The slope of the shear thickening part of the viscosity curve is found to increase dramatically with packing fraction and diverge at a critical packing fraction phi_c. The magnitude of the viscosity and the yield stress are also found to have scalings that diverge at phi_c. We observe shear thickening as long as the yield stress is less than the stress at the viscosity maximum. Above this point the suspensions transition to purely shear …
We report experimental and computational observations of dynamic contact networks for colloidal suspensions undergoing shear thickening. The dense suspensions are comprised of sterically stabilized poly(methyl methacrylate) hard sphere colloids that are spherically symmetric and have varied surface roughness. Confocal rheometry and dissipative particle dynamics simulations show that the shear thickening strength scales exponentially with the scaled deficit contact number and the scaled jamming distance. Rough colloids, which experience additional tangential and rolling constraints, require an …
We study the emergence of discontinuous shear-thickening (DST) in cornstarch, by combining macroscopic rheometry with local Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measurements. We bring evidence that macroscopic DST is observed only when the flow separates into a low-density flowing and a high-density jammed region. In the shear-thickened steady state, the local rheology in the flowing region, is not DST but, strikingly, is often shear-thinning. Our data thus show that the stress jump measured during DST, in cornstach, does not capture a secondary, high-viscosity branch of the local steady rheology,…
We investigated the effects of particle shape on shear thickening in densely packed suspensions. Rods of different aspect ratios and non-convex hooked rods were fabricated. Viscosity curves and normal stresses were measured using a rheometer for a wide range of packing fractions for each shape. Suspensions of each shape exhibit qualitatively similar Discontinuous Shear Thickening. The logarithmic slope of the stress/shear-rate relation increases dramatically with packing fraction and diverges at a critical packing fraction phi_c which depends on particle shape. The packing fraction dependence …
We numerically study the linear response of two-dimensional frictional granular materials under oscillatory shear. The storage modulus $G'$ and the loss modulus $G''$ in the zero strain rate limit depend on the initial strain amplitude of the oscillatory shear before measurement. The shear jammed state (satisfying $G'>0$) can be observed at an amplitude greater than a critical initial strain amplitude. The fragile state is defined by the emergence of liquid-like and solid-like states depending on the form of the initial shear. In this state, the observed $G'$ after the reduction of the strain …
Dense suspension of particles in a liquid exhibit rich, non-Newtonian behaviors such as shear thickening and shear jamming. Shear thickening is known to be enhanced by increasing the particles' frictional interactions and also by making their shape more anisotropic. For shear jamming, however, only the role of interparticle friction has been investigated, while the effect of changing particle shape has so far not been studied systematically. To address this we here synthesize smooth silica particles and design the particle surface chemistry to generate strong frictional interactions such that …
Shear thickening is a type of non-Newtonian behavior in which the stress required to shear a fluid increases faster than linearly with shear rate. Many concentrated suspensions of particles exhibit an especially dramatic version, known as Discontinuous Shear Thickening (DST), in which the stress suddenly jumps with increasing shear rate and produces solid-like behavior. The best known example of such counter-intuitive response to applied stresses occurs in mixtures of cornstarch in water. Over the last several years, this shear-induced solid-like behavior together with a variety of other unusu…
Discontinuous shear-thickening in dense suspensions naturally emerges from the activation of frictional forces by shear flow in non-Brownian systems close to jamming. Yet, this physical picture is incomplete as most experiments study soft colloidal particles subject to thermal fluctuations. To characterise discontinuous shear-thickening in colloidal suspensions we use computer simulations to provide a complete description of the competition between athermal jamming, frictional forces, thermal motion, particle softness, and shear flow. We intentionally neglect hydrodynamics, electrostatics, lub…
We study the rheology of cornstarch suspensions, a dense system of non-Brownian particles that exhibits shear thickening, i.e. a viscosity that increases with increasing shear rate. Using MRI velocimetry we show that the suspension has a yield stress. From classical rheology it follows that as a function of the applied stress the suspension is first solid (yield stress), then liquid and then solid again when it shear thickens. The onset shear rate for thickening is found to depend on the measurement geometry: the smaller the gap of the shear cell, the lower the shear rate at which thickening o…
A simple kinetic theory to exhibit a discontinuous shear thickening (DST) is proposed. The model includes the collision integral and the friction from environment as well as a thermostat term characterized by $T_{\rm ex}$. The viscosity of this model is proportional to $\dotγ^2$ for large shear rate $\dotγ$, while it is Newtonian for low $\dotγ$. The emergence of the DST is enhanced for lower density and lower nonzero $T_{\rm ex}$.
We introduce a class of simple models for shear thickening and/ or `jamming' in colloidal suspensions. These are based on schematic mode coupling theory (MCT) of the glass transition, having a memory term that depends on a density variable, and on both the shear stress and the shear rate. (Tensorial aspects of the rheology, such as normal stresses, are ignored for simplicity.) We calculate steady-state flow curves and correlation functions. Depending on model parameters, we find a range of rheological behaviours, including `S-shaped' flow curves, indicating discontinuous shear thickening, and …
We extend a recent theory for the rheology of frictionless granular materials [K. Suzuki and H. Hayakawa, Phys. Rev. Lett. 2015, 115, 098001] to the case of frictional disks in two dimensions. Employing a frictional contact model for molecular dynamics simulations, we derive difference equations of the shear stress, the granular temperature, and the spin temperature from the generalized Green-Kubo formula, where all the terms are given by microscopic expressions. The numerical solutions of the difference equations not only describe the flow curve, but also reproduce the hysteresis of shear str…
The shear rheology of dense colloidal and granular suspensions is strongly nonlinear, as these materials exhibit shear-thinning and shear-thickening, depending on multiple physical parameters. We numerically study the rheology of a simple model of soft repulsive particles at large densities, and show that nonlinear flow curves reminiscent of experiments on real suspensions can be obtained. By using dimensional analysis and basic elements of kinetic theory, we rationalize these multiple rheological regimes and disentangle the relative impact of thermal fluctuations, glass and jamming transition…
A consensus is emerging that discontinuous shear thickening (DST) in dense suspensions marks a transition from a flow state where particles remain well separated by lubrication layers, to one dominated by frictional contacts. We show here that reasonable assumptions about contact proliferation predict two distinct types of DST in the absence of inertia. The first occurs at densities above the jamming point of frictional particles; here the thickened state is completely jammed and (unless particles deform) cannot flow without inhomogeneity or fracture. The second regime shows strain- rate hyste…
Surface roughness affects many properties of colloids, from depletion [1] and capillary interactions [2], to their dispersibility [3] and use as emulsion stabilizers [4]. It also impacts particle-particle frictional contacts, which have recently emerged as being responsible for the discontinuous shear thickening (DST) of dense suspensions [5-17]. Tribological properties of these contacts have been rarely experimentally accessed [6, 15, 17, 18], especially for non-spherical particles. Here, we systematically tackle the effect of nanoscale surface roughness by producing a library of all-silica, …
Particle-based simulations of discontinuous shear thickening (DST) and shear jamming (SJ) suspensions are used to study the role of stress-activated constraints, with an emphasis on resistance to gear-like rolling. Rolling friction decreases the volume fraction required for DST and SJ, in quantitative agreement with real-life suspensions with adhesive surface chemistries and "rough" particle shapes. It sets a distinct structure of the frictional force network compared to only sliding friction, and from a dynamical perspective leads to an increase in the velocity correlation length, in part res…
Simulations are used to study the steady shear rheology of dense suspensions of frictional particles exhibiting discontinuous shear thickening and shear jamming, in which finite-range cohesive interactions result in a yield stress. We develop a constitutive model that combines yielding behavior and shear thinning at low stress with the frictional shear thickening at high stresses, in good agreement with the simulation results. This work shows that there is a distinct difference between solids below the yield stress and in the shear-jammed state, as the two occur at widely separated stress leve…
Mode coupling theory (MCT) appears to explain several, though not all, aspects of the glass transition in colloids (particularly when short-range attractions are present). Developments of MCT, from rational foundations in statistical mechanics, account qualitatively for nonlinear flow behaviour such as the yield stress of a hard-sphere colloidal glass. Such theories so far only predict shear thinning behaviour, whereas in real colloids both shear thinning and shear thickening can be found. The latter observation can, however, be rationalised by postulating an MCT vertex that is not only a decr…
We report direct measurements of spatially resolved surface stresses of a dense suspension during large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) in the discontinuous shear thickening regime using boundary stress microscopy. Consistent with previous studies, bulk rheology shows a dramatic increase in the complex viscosity above a frequency-dependent critical strain. We find that the viscosity increase is coincident with that appearance of large heterogeneous boundary stresses, indicative of the formation of transient solid-like phases (SLPs) on spatial scales large compared to the particle size. The …
We use 2D numerical simulations to study dense suspensions of non-Brownian hard particles using the Critical Load Model (CLM) under constant confining pressures. This simple model shows discontinuous shear thickening (DST) as the tangential forces get activated upon increased shear stresses. By parameterizing a simple binary system of frictional and non-frictional particles of different proportions we show that the jamming packing fraction, at which the viscosity diverges, is controlled by the fraction of frictional contacts. The viscosity of dense suspensions can thereby be expressed as a fun…
We investigate dilation-induced surface deformations in a Discontinuous Shear Thickening (DST) suspension to determine the relationship between dilation and stresses in DST. Video is taken at two observation points on the surface of the suspension in a rheometer while shear and normal stresses are measured. A roughened surface of the suspension is observed as particles poke through the liquid-air interface, corresponding to dilation. Dilation events are found to be intermittent and localized spatially. Shear and normal stresses also fluctuate between high- and low-stress states, and dilation i…
Shear thickening of particle suspensions is characterized by a transition between lubricated and frictional contacts between the particles. Using 3D numerical simulations, we study how the inter-particle friction coefficient influences the effective macroscopic friction coefficient and hence the microstructure and rheology of dense shear thickening suspensions. We propose expressions for effective friction coefficient in terms of distance to jamming for varying shear stresses and particle friction coefficient values. We find effective friction coefficient to be rather insensitive to interparti…
We study the rheology of cornstarch suspensions, a non-Brownian particle system that exhibits discontinuous shear thickening. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the local properties of the flow are obtained by the determination of local velocity profiles and concentrations in a Couette cell. For low rotational rates, we observe shear localization characteristic of yield stress fluids. When the overall shear rate is increased, the width of the sheared region increases. The discontinuous shear thickening is found to set in at the end of this shear localization regime when all of the fluid i…
Kinetic theory for dilute inertial suspension having soft-core potential is theoretically investigated. From the analysis of the scattering process, the expression of the scattering angle is analytically obtained. We derive the flow curve between the viscosity and the shear rate, which shows two-step discontinuous shear thickening when we change the softness of the particles. The molecular dynamics simulation shows that our theoretical results are consistent with the numerical ones.
Recently, we proposed a universal scaling framework that shows shear thickening in dense suspensions is governed by the crossover between two critical points: one associated with frictionless isotropic jamming and a second corresponding to frictional shear jamming. Here, we show that orthogonal perturbations to the flows, an effective method for tuning shear thickening, can also be folded into this universal scaling framework. Specifically, we show that the effect of adding in orthogonal shear perturbations (OSP) can be incorporated by simply altering the scaling variable to include a multipli…
We investigate shear thickening and jamming within the framework of a family of spatially homogeneous, scalar rheological models. These are based on the `soft glassy rheology' model of Sollich et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2020 (1997)], but with an effective temperature x that is a decreasing function of either the global stress σor the local strain l. For appropiate x=x(σ), it is shown that the flow curves include a region of negative slope, around which the stress exhibits hysteresis under a cyclically varying imposed strain rate \gd. A subclass of these x(σ) have flow curves that touch the \…
We present a phenomenological fluid dynamics model for a dilatant fluid, i.e. a severe shear thickening fluid, by introducing a state variable. The Navier-Stokes equation is coupled with the state variable field, which evolves in response to the local shear stress as the fluid is sheared. The viscosity is assumed to depend upon the state variable and to diverge at a certain value due to jamming. We demonstrate that the coupling of the fluid dynamics with the shear thickening leads to an oscillatory instability in the shear flow. The model also shows a peculiar response of the fluid to a strong…
Discontinuous shear thickening (DST) observed in many dense athermal suspensions has proven difficult to understand and to reproduce by numerical simulation. By introducing a numerical scheme including both relevant hydrodynamic interactions and granularlike contacts, we show that contact friction is essential for having DST. Above a critical volume fraction, we observe the existence of two states: a low viscosity, contactless (hence, frictionless) state, and a high viscosity frictional shear jammed state. These two states are separated by a critical shear stress, associated with a critical sh…
Complex fluids exhibit a variety of exotic flow behaviours under high stresses, such as shear thickening and shear jamming. Rheology is a powerful tool to characterise these flow behaviours over the bulk of the fluid. However, this technique is limited in its ability to probe fluid behaviour in a spatially resolved way. Here, we utilise high-speed imaging and the free-surface geometry in drop impact to study the flow of colloidal suspensions. We report, for the first time, observations of coexisting solid and liquid phases due to shear jamming caused by impact. In addition to observing Newtoni…
Recent advances in shear-thickening suspension rheology suggest a relation between (wet) suspension flow below jamming and (dry) granular physics. To probe this connection, we simulated the contact force networks in suspensions of non-Brownian spheres using the discrete element method (DEM), varying the particle friction coefficient and volume fraction. We find that force networks in these suspensions show quantitative similarities to those in jammed dry grains. As suspensions approach the jamming point, the extrapolated volume fraction and coordination number at jamming are similar to critica…
We study the rheological behavior of concentrated granular suspensions of simple spherical particles. Under controlled stress, the system exhibits an S-shaped flow curve (stress vs. shear rate) with a negative slope in between the low-viscosity Newtonian regime and the shear thickened regime. Under controlled shear rate, a discontinuous transition between the two states is observed. Stress visualization experiments with a novel fluorescent probe suggest that friction is at the origin of shear thickening. Stress visualization shows that the stress in the system remains homogeneous (no shear ban…
Particles suspended in a Newtonian fluid raise the viscosity and also generally give rise to a shear-rate dependent rheology. In particular, pronounced shear thickening may be observed at large solid volume fractions. In a recent article (R. Seto, R. Mari, J. F. Morris, and M. M. Denn., Phys. Rev. Lett., 111:218301, 2013) we have considered the minimum set of components to reproduce the experimentally observed shear thickening behavior, including Discontinuous Shear Thickening (DST). We have found frictional contact forces to be essential, and were able to reproduce the experimental behavior b…
We report on numerical simulations of simple models of athermal, bidisperse, soft-core, massive disks in two dimensions, as a function of packing fraction $ϕ$, inelasticity of collisions as measured by a parameter $Q$, and applied uniform shear strain rate $\dotγ$. Our particles have contact interactions consisting of normally directed elastic repulsion and viscous dissipation, as well as tangentially directed viscous dissipation, but no inter-particle Coulombic friction. Mapping the phase diagram in the $(ϕ,Q)$ plane for small $\dotγ$, we find a sharp first-order rheological phase transition …
It has recently been argued that steady-state vorticity bands cannot arise in shear thickening suspensions, because the normal stress imbalance across the interface between the bands will set up particle migrations. In this Letter, we develop a simple continuum model that couples shear thickening to particle migration. We show by linear stability analysis that homogeneous flow is unstable towards vorticity banding, as expected, in the regime of negative constitutive slope. In full nonlinear computations, we show however that the resulting vorticity bands are unsteady, with spatiotemporal patte…
Rheological phase transitions open the door to the less explored realm of non-equilibrium phase transitions. The main mechanism driving these transitions is usually mechanical perturbation by shear--- an unjamming mechanism. Investigating discontinuous shear thickening (DST) is challenging because the shear counterintuitively acts as a jamming mechanism. Moreover, at the brink of this transition, a thickening material exhibits fluctuations that extend both spatially and temporally. Despite recent extensive research, the origins of such spatiotemporal fluctuations remain unidentified. Here, we …
Dynamic particle-scale numerical simulations are used to show that the shear thickening observed in dense colloidal, or Brownian, suspensions is of a similar nature to that observed in non-colloidal suspensions, i.e., a stress-induced transition from a flow of lubricated near-contacting particles to a flow of a frictionally contacting network of particles. Abrupt (or discontinuous) shear thickening is found to be a geometric rather than hydrodynamic phenomenon; it stems from the strong sensitivity of the jamming volume fraction to the nature of contact forces between suspended particles. The t…
Recent studies of athermal systems such as dry grains and dense, non-Brownian suspensions have shown that shear can lead to solidification through the process of shear jamming in grains and discontinuous shear thickening in suspensions. The similarities observed between these two distinct phenomena suggest that the physical processes leading to shear-induced rigidity in athermal materials are universal. We present a non-equilibrium statistical mechanics model, which exhibits the phenomenology of these shear-driven transitions: shear jamming and discontinuous shear thickening in different regio…
A kinetic theory for a dilute gas-solid suspension under a simple shear is developed. With the aid of the corresponding Boltzmann equation, it is found that the flow curve (stress-strain rate relation) has a S-shape as a crossover from the Newtonian to the Bagnoldian for a granular suspension or from the Newtonian to a fluid having a viscosity proportional to the square of the shear rate for a suspension consisting of elastic particles. The existence of the S-shape in the flow curve directly leads to a discontinuous shear thickening (DST). This DST corresponds to the discontinuous transition o…
We propose a simple model, supported by contact-dynamics simulations as well as rheology and friction measurements, that links the transition from continuous to discontinuous shear-thickening in dense granular pastes to distinct lubrication regimes in the particle contacts. We identify a local Sommerfeld number that determines the transition from Newtonian to shear-thickening flows, and then show that the suspension's volume fraction and the boundary lubrication friction coefficient control the nature of the shear-thickening transition, both in simulations and experiments.
Competing time scales generate novelty. Here, we show that a coupling between the time scales imposed by instrument inertia and the formation of inter-particle frictional contacts in shear-thickening suspensions leads to highly asymmetric shear-rate oscillations. Experiments tuning the presence of oscillations by varying the two time-scales validate our model. The observed oscillations give access to a shear-jamming portion of the flow curve that is forbidden in conventional rheometry. Moreover, the oscillation frequency allows us to quantify an intrinsic relaxation time for particle contacts.…
We study the steady-state response to applied stress in a simple scalar model of sheared colloids. Our model is based on a schematic (F2) model of the glass transition, with a memory term that depends on both stress and shear rate. For suitable parameters, we find transitions from a fluid to a nonergodic, jammed state, showing zero flow rate in an interval of applied stress. Although the jammed state is a glass, we predict that jamming transitions have an analytical structure distinct from that of the conventional mode coupling glass transition. The static jamming transition we discuss is also…
We experimentally investigate shear thickening in dense granular suspensions under oscillatory shear. Directly imaging the suspension-air interface, we observe dilation beyond a critical strain $γ_c$ and the end of shear thickening as the maximum confining stress is reached and the contact line moves. Analyzing the shear profile, we extract the viscosity contributions due to hydrodynamics $η_μ$, dilation $η_c$ and sedimentation $η_g$. While $η_g$ governs the shear thinning regime, $η_μ$ and $η_c$ together determine the shear thickening behavior. As the suspending liquid's viscosity varies from…
Dense suspensions can exhibit an abrupt change in their viscosity in response to increasing shear rate. The origin of this discontinuous shear thickening (DST) has been ascribed to the transformation of lubricated contacts to frictional, particle-on-particle contacts. Recent research on the flowing and jamming behavior of dense suspensions has explored the intersection of ideas from granular physics and Stokesian fluid dynamics to better understand this transition from lubricated to frictional rheology. DST is reminiscent of classical phase transitions, and a key question is how interactions b…
Dense suspensions that exhibit discontinuous shear thickening (DST) undergo complex stress relaxation when the flow abruptly stops. Using rotational rheometry, we study the two-step relaxation of aqueous cornstarch suspensions out of the DST state upon flow cessation and show that the DST fluid retains the memory of its shear-thickening state until the shear stress reaches a constant value at late times. We find that this residual stress at the end of the relaxation increases with the steady-state viscosity before the cessation. Furthermore, the timescales that characterize the two-step expone…
The mechanical response of solid particles dispersed in a Newtonian fluid exhibits a wide range of nonlinear phenomena including a dramatic increase in the viscosity \cite{1-3} with increasing stress. If the volume fraction of the solid phase is moderately high, the suspension will undergo continuous shear thickening (CST), where the suspension viscosity increases smoothly with applied shear stress; at still higher volume fractions the suspension can display discontinuous shear thickening (DST), where the viscosity changes abruptly over several orders of magnitude upon increasing applied stres…
The formation of self-organised structures that resist shear deformation have been discussed in the context of shear jamming and thickening[1-3], with frictional forces playing a key role. However, shear induces geometric features necessary for jamming even in frictionless packings[4]. We analyse conditions for jamming in such assemblies by solving force and torque balance conditions for their contact geometry. We demonstrate, and validate with frictional simulations, that the isostatic condition for mean contact number Z = D + 1 (for spatial dimension D = 2, 3) holds at jamming for both finit…
Many systems in nature exhibit transitions between fluid-like states and solid-like states, or "jamming transitions". There is a strong theoretical foundation for understanding equilibrium phase transitions that involve solidification, or jamming. Other jamming transitions, such as the glass transition, are less well-understood. The jamming phase diagram has been proposed to unify the description of equilibrium phase transitions, the glass transitions, and other non-equilibrium jamming transitions. As with equilibrium phase transitions, which can either be first order (discontinuous in a relev…
We present a technique for obtaining an effective packing fraction for discontinuous shear thickening suspensions near a critical point. It uses a measurable quantity that diverges at the critical point -- in this case the inverse of the shear rate $\dotγ_c^{-1}$ at the onset of discontinuous shear thickening -- as a proxy for packing fraction $ϕ$. We obtain an effective packing fraction for cornstarch and water by fitting $\dotγ_c^{-1}(ϕ)$, then invert the function to obtain $ϕ_{eff}(\dotγ_c)$. We further include the dependence of $\dotγ_c^{-1}$ on the rheometer gap $d$ to obtain the function…
