Flow-induced structure in colloidal gels: direct visualization of model 2D suspensions
Abstract
The spatial organization of particles in a colloidal gel controls the macroscopic properties, such as the rheological ones or the macroscopic gel stability. However, the suspension microstructure depends in a non-trivial manner on the colloidal interactions, the concentration and the flow history. Especially the effect of the latter is so far ill-understood and difficult to study in bulk suspensions. In the present work, well-characterized two dimensional suspensions are used to study the flow-induced structure in colloidal gels. Both a parallel band apparatus and a four roll mill are used to generate surface flows and the resulting steady state structures are analyzed using video
- This article is part of the themed collection: Dynamics and Rheology of Complex Fluid-Fluid Interfaces