Abstract
This paper presents a compilation of experimental and numerical results that both show that particles in a suspension under shear flow come into contact through surface roughness. Accounting for those frictional contacts captures well the measured viscosity values as well as the shear-thinning observed in many concentrated non-Brownian suspensions. More specifically, the precise analysis of the asymmetric microstructure of the suspension clearly shows the role played by surface asperities in the interparticle contact. Numerical simulation results are then recalled and show the major impact of solid friction between particles on the viscosity. It is then pointed out that shear reversal experiments are a good way to assess this impact and to deduce useful information on the frictional properties of contacts. Finally, when considering together contacts via asperities and the close link between friction and rheology, a natural explanation for the shear-thinning observed in most suspensions can be proposed. According to it, as the shear stress increases, the friction coefficient decreases which leads to a viscosity decrease. This scenario first implemented in numerical simulations is verified experimentally through coupled AFM and rheometry measurements.
Graphical Abstract
The asymmetry of the shear-induced microstructure of non-Brownian and non-colloidal suspensions reflects the presence of solid contacts between particles, enabled by the surface asperities of the particles. The peculiar characteristics of these asperity contacts open the way to explain the shear-thinning observed for many suspensions by a decrease in the friction coefficient with increasing shear stress.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
In the original model of Brizmer et al (2007), the contact is between a soft sphere and a rigid flat plane while here we consider the contact between two soft materials with the same Young modulus E. This is the reason why a factor 2 is introduced into the brackets.
References
Archard J (1957) Elastic deformation and the laws of friction. Proceedings of the royal society of London Series A Mathematical and physical sciences 243(1233):190–205
Arp P, Mason S (1977) The kinetics of flowing dispersions: Ix. doublets of rigid spheres (experimental). J Colloid Interf Sci 61(1):44–61
Arp P, Mason S (1977) The kinetics of flowing dispersions:Viii. doublets of rigid spheres (theoretical). J Colloid interf Sci 61(1):21–43
Arshad M, Maali A, Claudet C et al (2021) An experimental study on the role of inter-particle friction in the shear-thinning behavior of non-brownian suspensions. Soft Matter 17(25):6088–6097
Batchelor G (1970) The stress system in a suspension of force-free particles. J Fluid Mech 41(3):545–570
Blanc F (2011) Rhéologie et microstructure des suspensions concentrées non browniennes. PhD thesis, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis
Blanc F, Peters F, Lemaire E (2011) Experimental signature of the pair trajectories of rough spheres in the shear-induced microstructure in noncolloidal suspensions. Phys Rev Lett 107(20):208–302
Blanc F, Lemaire E, Meunier A et al (2013) Microstructure in sheared non-brownian concentrated suspensions. J Rheol 57(1):273–292
Blanc F, D’Ambrosio E, Lobry L et al (2018) Universal scaling law in frictional non-brownian suspensions. Phys Rev Fluids 3(11):114–303
Blanc F, Peters F, Gillissen JJ et al (2023) Rheology of dense suspensions under shear rotation. Phys Rev Lett 130(11):118–202
Bossis G, Brady JF (1984) Dynamic simulation of sheared suspensions. i. general method. J Chem Phys 80(10):5141–5154
Bossis G, Boustingorry P, Grasselli Y et al (2017) Discontinuous shear thickening in the presence of polymers adsorbed on the surface of calcium carbonate particles. Rheologica Acta 56(5):415–430
Bowden FP, Tabor D (1939) The area of contact between stationary and moving surfaces. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series A Mathematical and Physical Sciences 169(938):391–413
Brady JF, Bossis G (1988) Stokesian dynamics. Annu Rev Fluid Mech 20:111–157
Brady JF, Morris JF (1997) Microstructure of strongly sheared suspensions and its impact on rheology and diffusion. J Fluid Mech 348:103–139
Breedveld V, van den Ende D, Bosscher M et al (2001a) Measuring shear-induced self-diffusion in a counterrotating geometry. Physical Review E 63(2):021–403
Breedveld V, van den Ende D, Jongschaap R et al (2001b) Shear-induced diffusion and rheology of noncolloidal suspensions: Time scales and particle displacements. J Chem Phys 114(13):5923–5936
Bricker JM, Butler JE (2007) Correlation between stresses and microstructure in concentrated suspensions of non-brownian spheres subject to unsteady shear flows. J Rheol 51(4):735–759
Brizmer V, Kligerman Y, Etsion I (2007) Elastic-plastic spherical contact under combined normal and tangential loading in full stick. Tribol Lett 25(1):61–70
Chatté G, Comtet J, Niguès A et al (2018) Shear thinning in non-brownian suspensions. Soft Matter 14(6):879–893
Chèvremont W, Chareyre B, Bodiguel H (2019) Quantitative study of the rheology of frictional suspensions: Influence of friction coefficient in a large range of viscous numbers. Phys Rev Fluids 4(6):064–302
Clavaud C, Bérut A, Metzger B et al (2017) Revealing the frictional transition in shear-thickening suspensions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114(20):5147–5152
Comtet J, Chatté G, Niguès A et al (2017) Pairwise frictional profile between particles determines discontinuous shear thickening transition in non-colloidal suspensions. Nat Commun 8(1):1–7
Da Cunha F, Hinch E (1996) Shear-induced dispersion in a dilute suspension of rough spheres. J Fluid Mech 309:211–223
Davis RH, Zhao Y, Galvin KP et al (2003) Solid-solid contacts due to surface roughness and their effects on suspension behaviour. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 361(1806):871–894
Dbouk T, Lobry L, Lemaire E (2013) Normal stresses in concentrated non-brownian suspensions. J Fluid Mech 715:239–272
Drazer G, Koplik J, Khusid B et al (2002) Deterministic and stochastic behaviour of non-brownian spheres in sheared suspensions. J Fluid Mech 460:307–335
Du B, Tsui OK, Zhang Q et al (2001) Study of elastic modulus and yield strength of polymer thin films using atomic force microscopy. Langmuir 17(11):3286–3291
Ecke S, Butt HJ (2001) Friction between individual microcontacts. J Colloid Interface Sci 244(2):432–435
Eckstein EC, Bailey DG, Shapiro AH (1977) Self-diffusion of particles in shear flow of a suspension. J Fluid Mech 79(1):191–208
Edens LE, Alvarado EG, Singh A et al (2021) Shear stress dependence of force networks in 3d dense suspensions. Soft Matter 17(32):7476–7486
Gadala-Maria F, Acrivos A (1980) Shear-induced structure in a concentrated suspension of solid spheres. J Rheol 24(6):799–814
Gallier S, Lemaire E, Peters F et al (2014) Rheology of sheared suspensions of rough frictional particles. J Fluid Mech 757:514–549
Gallier S, Lemaire E, Lobry L et al (2016) Effect of confinement in wall-bounded non-colloidal suspensions. J Fluid Mech 799:100–127
Gallier S, Peters F, Lobry L (2018) Simulations of sheared dense noncolloidal suspensions: Evaluation of the role of long-range hydrodynamics. Phys Rev Fluids 3(4):042–301
Gao C, Kulkarni S, Morris J et al (2010) Direct investigation of anisotropic suspension structure in pressure-driven flow. Phys Rev E 81(4):041–403
Greenwood JA, Williamson JP (1966) Contact of nominally flat surfaces. Proceedings of the royal society of London Series A Mathematical and physical sciences 295(1442):300–319
Grest GS (1999) Normal and shear forces between polymer brushes. Polymers in Confined Environments pp 149–183
Guazzelli É, Pouliquen O (2018) Rheology of dense granular suspensions. J Fluid Mech 852
Gurnon AK, Wagner NJ (2015) Microstructure and rheology relationships for shear thickening colloidal dispersions. J Fluid Mech 769:242–276
Guy B, Hermes M, Poon WC (2015) Towards a unified description of the rheology of hard-particle suspensions. Phys Rev Lett 115(8):088–304
Hoyle C, Dai S, Tanner R et al (2020) Effect of particle roughness on the rheology of suspensions of hollow glass microsphere particles. J Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech 276:104–235
Hsiao LC, Pradeep S (2019) Experimental synthesis and characterization of rough particles for colloidal and granular rheology. Curr Opin colloid interf Sci 43:94–112
Hsu CP, Ramakrishna SN, Zanini M et al (2018) Roughness-dependent tribology effects on discontinuous shear thickening. Proc Natl Acad Sci 115(20):5117–5122
Husband D, Gadala-Maria F (1987) Anisotropic particle distribution in dilute suspensions of solid spheres in cylindrical couette flow. J Rheol 31(1):95–110
Jones R (2003) From single particle afm studies of adhesion and friction to bulk flow: forging the links. Granular Matter 4(4):191–204
Koumakis N, Moghimi E, Besseling R et al (2015) Tuning colloidal gels by shear. Soft Matter 11(23):4640–4648
Kroupa M, Soos M, Kosek J (2017) Slip on a particle surface as the possible origin of shear thinning in non-brownian suspensions. Phys Chem Chem Phys 19(8):5979–5984
Kumar SP, Vázquez-Quesada A, Ellero M (2020) Numerical investigation of the rheological behavior of a dense particle suspension in a biviscous matrix using a lubrication dynamics method. J Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech 281:104–312
Le AVN, Izzet A, Ovarlez G et al (2023) Solvents govern rheology and jamming of polymeric bead suspensions. J Colloid Interf Sci 629:438–450
Leighton D, Acrivos A (1986) Viscous resuspension. Chem Eng Sci 41(6):1377–1384
Lin NY, Guy BM, Hermes M et al (2015) Hydrodynamic and contact contributions to continuous shear thickening in colloidal suspensions. Phys Rev Lett 115(22):228–304
Lobry L, Lemaire E, Blanc F et al (2019) Shear thinning in non-brownian suspensions explained by variable friction between particles. J Fluid Mech 860:682–710
Mari R, Seto R, Morris JF et al (2014) Shear thickening, frictionless and frictional rheologies in non-brownian suspensions. J Rheol 58(6):1693–1724
Martienssen W, Warlimont H (2005) Springer handbook of condensed matter and materials data, vol. 1, Springer
Metzger B, Butler JE (2010) Irreversibility and chaos: Role of long-range hydrodynamic interactions in sheared suspensions. Phys Rev E 82(5):051–406
Metzger B, Pham P, Butler JE (2013) Irreversibility and chaos: Role of lubrication interactions in sheared suspensions. Phys Rev E 87(5):052–304
Moratille Y, Arshad M, Cohen C et al (2022) Cross-linked polymer microparticles with tunable surface properties by the combination of suspension free radical copolymerization and click chemistry. J Colloid Interf Sci 607:1687–1698
More RV, Ardekani AM (2020) Effect of roughness on the rheology of concentrated non-brownian suspensions: A numerical study. J Rheol 64(1):67–80
More RV, Ardekani AM (2021) Unifying disparate rate-dependent rheological regimes in non-brownian suspensions. Phys Rev E 103(6):062–610
Papadopoulou A, Gillissen JJ, Wilson HJ, et al (2020) On the shear thinning of non-brownian suspensions: friction or adhesion? J Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech p 104298
Park HO, Bricker JM, Roy MJ et al (2011) Rheology of oscillating suspensions of noncolloidal spheres at small and large accumulated strains. Phys Fluids 23(1):013–302
Parsi F, Gadala-Maria F (1987) Fore-and-aft asymmetry in a concentrated suspension of solid spheres. J Rheol 31(8):725–732
Peters F, Ghigliotti G, Gallier S et al (2016) Rheology of non-brownian suspensions of rough frictional particles under shear reversal: A numerical study. J Rheol 60(4):715–732
Pham P, Metzger B, Butler JE (2015) Particle dispersion in sheared suspensions: Crucial role of solid-solid contacts. Phys Fluids 27(5):051–701
Rampall I, Smart JR, Leighton DT (1997) The influence of surface roughness on the particle-pair distribution function of dilute suspensions of non-colloidal spheres in simple shear flow. J Fluid Mech 339:1–24
Richards JA, Guy BM, Blanco E et al (2020) The role of friction in the yielding of adhesive non-brownian suspensions. J Rheol 64(2):405–412
Seto R, Mari R, Morris JF et al (2013) Discontinuous shear thickening of frictional hard-sphere suspensions. Phys Rev Lett 111(21):218–301
Sierou A, Brady JF (2002) Rheology and microstructure in concentrated noncolloidal suspensions. J Rheol 46(5):1031–1056
Singh A, Nott PR (2000) Normal stresses and microstructure in bounded sheared suspensions via stokesian dynamics simulations. J Fluid Mech 412:279–301
Singh A, Mari R, Denn MM et al (2018) A constitutive model for simple shear of dense frictional suspensions. J Rheol 62(2):457–468
Smart JR, Leighton DT Jr (1989) Measurement of the hydrodynamic surface roughness of noncolloidal spheres. Physics of Fluids A: Fluid Dynamics 1(1):52–60
Tanner RI, Dai S (2016) Particle roughness and rheology in noncolloidal suspensions. J Rheol 60(4):809–818
Tanner RI, Ness C, Mahmud A et al (2018) A bootstrap mechanism for non-colloidal suspension viscosity. Rheologica Acta 57(10):635–643
Tomari K, Tonogai S, Harada T et al (1990) The v-notch at weld lines in polystyrene injection moldings. Polymer Eng Sci 30(15):931–936
Vazquez-Quesada A, Tanner RI, Ellero M (2016) Shear thinning of noncolloidal suspensions. Physical review letters 117(10):108–001
Vázquez-Quesada A, Mahmud A, Dai S, et al (2017) Investigating the causes of shear-thinning in non-colloidal suspensions: Experiments and simulations. J Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech 248:1–7
Vinogradova OI, Yakubov GE (2006) Surface roughness and hydrodynamic boundary conditions. Phys Rev E 73(4):045–302
Wiederseiner S, Andreini N, Epely-Chauvin G et al (2011) Refractive-index and density matching in concentrated particle suspensions: a review. Exp Fluids 50(5):1183–1206
Wilson HJ (2005) An analytic form for the pair distribution function and rheology of a dilute suspension of rough spheres in plane strain flow. J Fluid Mech 534:97–114
Wilson HJ, Davis RH (2002) Shear stress of a monolayer of rough spheres. J Fluid Mech 452:425–441
Wyart M, Cates ME (2014) Discontinuous shear thickening without inertia in dense non-brownian suspensions. Phys Rev Lett 112(9):098-302
Yeo K, Maxey MR (2010) Dynamics of concentrated suspensions of non-colloidal particles in couette flow. J Fluid Mech 649:205–231
Yeo K, Maxey MR (2010) Ordering transition of non-brownian suspensions in confined steady shear flow. Phys Rev E 81(5):051–502
Yeo K, Maxey MR (2010) Simulation of concentrated suspensions using the force-coupling method. J Comput Phys 229(6):2401–2421
Yeo K, Maxey MR (2011) Numerical simulations of concentrated suspensions of monodisperse particles in a poiseuille flow. J Fluid Mech 682:491–518
Zarraga IE, Hill DA, Leighton DT Jr (2000) The characterization of the total stress of concentrated suspensions of noncolloidal spheres in newtonian fluids. J Rheol 44(2):185–220
Zhou JZ, Uhlherr PH, Luo FT (1995) Yield stress and maximum packing fraction of concentrated suspensions. Rheologica acta 34(6):544–561
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Duncan Gilbert for fruitful discussions and for providing the shear reversal data displayed in Fig. 6. This work was supported by the French National Agency (ANR) under the program Blanc AMARHEO (ANR-18-CE06-0009-01)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Frédéric Blanc, Cyrille Claudet, Stany Gallier, Laurent Lobry, and François Peters contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Lemaire, E., Blanc, F., Claudet, C. et al. Rheology of non-Brownian suspensions: a rough contact story. Rheol Acta 62, 253–268 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-023-01394-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-023-01394-z