Paper Number
SC9 

Session
Suspensions and Colloids

Title
Structure and dynamics of force clusters and networks in shear thickening suspensions

Presentation Date and Time
October 10, 2022 (Monday) 2:10

Track / Room
Track 1 / Sheraton 4

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

1. Nabizadeh, Mohammad (Northeastern University)
2. Singh, Abhinendra (The University of Chicago)
3. Jamali, Safa (Northeastern University)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Mohammad Nabizadeh¹, Abhinendra Singh² and Safa Jamali^3
1Northeastern University, Boston, MA; ²The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; ³Northeastern University, Boston, MA

Speaker / Presenter 
Jamali, Safa

Keywords
computational methods; jammed systems; suspensions

Text of Abstract
Dense suspensions exhibit a wide range of rheological behavior in response to external deformation, including shear thickening and jamming. Formation of space-spanning force networks are believed to increase resistance against motion, yet the characteristics of these giant networks are still poorly understood. In this work, formation of the force networks in dense suspensions are studied, where the so-called continuous and discontinuous shear thickening (CST and DST respectively) are observed under large enough deformation rates. We first show the evolution of the force networks as the applied stress increases and shear-thickening emerges. Furthermore, we identify force clusters between particles, and show that the stark differences between CST and DST regimes can be explained through cluster-level interactions. Our results suggest that the force clusters formed in the DST regime are more densely packed, and are also considerably more constrained in their motion, while CST clusters are loosely connected to their surrounding clusters.