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Surface roughness affects many properties of colloids, from depletion and capillary interactions to their dispersibility and use as emulsion stabilizers. It also impacts particle–particle frictional contacts, which have recently emerged as being responsible for the discontinuous shear thickening (DST) of dense suspensions. Tribological properties of these contacts have been rarely experimentally accessed, especially for nonspherical particles. Here, we systematically tackle the effect of nanoscale surface roughness by producing a library of all-silica, raspberry-like colloids and linking their rheology to their tribology. Rougher surfaces lead to a significant anticipation of DST onset, in terms of both shear rate and solid loading. Strikingly, they also eliminate continuous thickening. DST is here due to the interlocking of asperities, which we have identified as “stick–slip” frictional contacts by measuring the sliding of the same particles via lateral force microscopy (LFM). Direct measurements of particle–particle friction therefore highlight the value of an engineering-tribology approach to tuning the thickening of suspensions.

Shear thickening in dense particulate suspensions was recently proposed to be driven by the activation of friction above an onset stress needed to overcome repulsive forces between particles. Testing this scenario represents a major challenge because classical rheological approaches do not provide access to the frictional properties of suspensions. Here we adopt a different strategy inspired by pressure-imposed configurations in granular flows that specifically gives access to this information. By investigating the quasi-static avalanche angle, compaction, and dilatancy effects in different nonbuoyant suspensions flowing under gravity, we demonstrate that particles in shear-thickening suspensions are frictionless under low confining pressure. Moreover, we show that tuning the range of the repulsive force below the particle roughness suppresses the frictionless state and also the shear-thickening behavior of the suspension. These results, which link microscopic contact physics to the suspension macroscopic rheology, provide direct evidence that the recent frictional transition scenario applies in real suspensions.

We report direct measurements of spatially resolved stress at the boundary of a shearthickening cornstarch suspension revealing persistent regions of high local stress propagating in the flow direction at the speed of the top boundary. The persistence of these propagating fronts enables precise measurements of their structure, including the profile of boundary stress measured by boundary stress microscopy (BSM) and the nonaffine velocity of particles at the bottom boundary of the suspension measured by particle image velocimetry (PIV). In addition, we directly measure the relative flow between the particle phase and the suspending fluid (fluid migration) and find the migration is highly localized to the fronts and changes direction across the front, indicating that the fronts are composed of a localized region of high dilatant pressure and low particle concentration. The magnitude of the flow indicates that the pore pressure difference driving the fluid migration is comparable to the critical shear stress for the onset of shear thickening. The propagating fronts fully account for the increase in viscosity with applied stress reported by the rheometer and are consistent with the existence of a stable jammed region in contact with one boundary of the system that generates a propagating network of percolated frictional contacts spanning the gap between the rheometer plates and producing strong localized dilatant pressure.

Dense particulate suspensions exhibit a dramatic increase in average viscosity above a critical, material-dependent shear stress. This thickening changes from continuous to discontinuous as the concentration is increased. Using direct measurements of spatially resolved surface stresses in the continuous thickening regime, we report the existence of clearly defined dynamic localized regions of substantially increased stress that appear intermittently at stresses above the critical stress. With increasing applied stress, these regions occupy an increasing fraction of the system, and the increase accounts quantitatively for the observed shear thickening. The regions represent high-viscosity fluid phases, with a size determined by the distance between the shearing surfaces and a viscosity that is nearly independent of shear rate but that increases rapidly with concentration. Thus, we find that continuous shear thickening arises from increasingly frequent localized discontinuous transitions between distinct fluid phases with widely differing viscosities.

A magnetorheological shear thickening fluid (MSTF) is prepared through adding carbonyl iron particles and Al 2 O 3 abrasives into the traditional shear thickening fluid (STF) to improve low shear stress characteristic of STF in this work. To select the optimal sample as base fluid for MSTF, a series of STFs was pre-prepared and its rheological characteristics were further tested, which contained different concentrations of starch polymer and abrasive. Furthermore, different character parameters of MSTFs, such as magnetic field intensity and carbonyl iron particle’s concentration, were experimentally tested to explore its rheological characteristics. Then, the magnetorheological effect on shear thickening formation of MSTFs was furtherly discussed. Experimental results show that with the same base fluid the viscosity and the shear stress of MSTFs are both higher than of STFs under the action of magnetic field. Moreover, the MSTF exhibits a good shear thickening effect under the weak magnetic field intensity and at low level of iron particle concentration, because the existence of hydrogen bonds and magnetic particle chains makes the shear thickening effect of MSTF enhanced by particle clusters. The results indicate that the MSTFs as polishing fluid contribute to develop a higher efficiency polishing method in the future.

Fine-particle suspensions (such as cornstarch mixed with water) exhibit dramatic changes in viscosity when sheared, producing fascinating behaviors that captivate children and rheologists alike. Examination of these mixtures in simple flow geometries suggests intergranular repulsion and its influence on the frictional nature of granular contacts is central to this effect—for mixtures at rest or shearing slowly, repulsion prevents frictional contacts from forming between particles, whereas when sheared more forcefully, granular stresses overcome the repulsion allowing particles to interact frictionally and form microscopic structures that resist flow. Previous constitutive studies of these mixtures have focused on particular cases, typically limited to 2D, steady, simple shearing flows. In this work, we introduce a predictive and general, 3D continuum model for this material, using mixture theory to couple the fluid and particle phases. Playing a central role in the model, we introduce a microstructural state variable, whose evolution is deduced from small-scale physical arguments and checked with existing data. Our space- and time-dependent model is implemented numerically in a variety of unsteady, nonuniform flow configurations where it is shown to accurately capture a variety of key behaviors: 1) the continuous shear-thickening (CST) and discontinuous shear-thickening (DST) behavior observed in steady flows, 2) the time-dependent propagation of “shear jamming fronts,” 3) the time-dependent propagation of “impactactivated jamming fronts,” and 4) the non-Newtonian, “running on oobleck” effect, wherein fast locomotors stay afloat while slow ones sink.

Shear thickening polishing technology using non-Newtonian polishing fluids is a low-cost, low-damage polishing method for the ultra-precision machining of complex curved surfaces. However, the low polishing efficiency and poorly controlled viscosity of traditional shear thickening polishing fluids significantly limit their practical applications. In this study, a novel weak magnetic field-assisted shear thickening polishing fluid (WMFA-STPF) containing carbonyl iron particles, which utilized a weak magnetorheological effect to promote the shear thickening process, was developed, and its rheological characteristics were investigated. The obtained results revealed that WMFA-STPF exhibited good fluidity at low shear rates and enhanced thickening characteristics in the working shear rate range. To verify the high efficiency, high quality, and uniform polishing ability of WMFA-STP technology applied to the spherical surface of a zirconia ceramic workpiece, contrast polishing experiments were performed. After 75 min of polishing, the surface damage was effectively mitigated; the surface quality and uniformity were significantly improved; and the material removal rate increased by 156% up to 7.82 μm/h. Hence, the WMFA-STP method can be successfully utilized for the high-efficiency high-quality polishing of hard and brittle ceramics.

We present a systematic rheological study on the fumed silica suspensions to understand the effect of particle and fluid parameters on the critical shear rate and shear thickening ratio. It was observed that removal of air bubbles and water contamination is crucial to prepare good shear thickening fluids. A careful sample preparation method was adopted to properly disperse the fumed silica particles in polyethylene glycol solution, and we achieved discontinuous shear thickening at low particle concentration. It was observed that the critical shear rate in shear thickening suspension is strongly influenced by both carrier fluid and particle concentration. However, the shear thickening ratio is mainly influenced by the particle parameters and the frictional forces between the particles. Increasing the amount of smaller particles in the suspension significantly decreases the maximum viscosity and shifts the onset of shear thickening to higher values of critical shear rates with much smaller shear thickening ratio. Further, a possible mechanism has been proposed based on the influence of carrier fluid and particle size distribution to explain the rheological behaviour of shear thickening suspension. Our study supports the theory of particle-particle frictional contacts as the main reason for the discontinuous shear thickening.

Shear thickening fluid (STF), a type of non-Newtonian fluid, becomes more viscous as the strain rate rises. Due to their unique rheological properties, STFs have outstanding vibration-damping and energy-absorbing capabilities and have tremendous engineering applications. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of STFs, a review of aspects from the principle and composition, theoretical expression to application of STFs is presented on what are in this paper. In terms of principle of STFs, the thickening theory and thickening mechanism are explained firstly. The rheological characteristics and mechanical properties of STFs are reviewed. Subsequently, typical composition and preparation methods of STFs are enumerated. In terms of theoretical expression, theoretical modelling methods towards the viscosity of STFs are summarized. In terms of application, influencing factors on the thickening properties are examined. Furthermore, current engineering applications of STFs are presented. Finally, future perspectives on the research of STFs are put forward in the conclusion. The work of this article provides a systematic study and thorough knowledge of STFs, which is beneficial for numerous potential engineering applications of STFs.

Polyacrylamide (HPAM) is commonly used as a thickener in water-based fracturing fluids due to its good solubility and thickening ability. However, drawbacks such as the formation of high temperature and high salinity in oil and gas production currently limit its use as a thickening agent for fracturing fluids. To solve this problem, a hydrophobic associating polymer, DSAM (acrylamide/2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid/acrylic acid/hydrophobic monomer AMD-12), with a good temperature and salt resistance was synthesized via complex initiated polymerization. The molecular structure of the synthesized polymer DSAM was confirmed using IR and 1H NMR. The water solubility, thickening properties, and salt resistance of DSAM polymers were investigated. The results showed that the DSAM polymer solution’s apparent viscosity initially decreased with the addition of NaCl. However, as the salt concentration further increased, the DSAM polymer solution’s polarity also increased, as well as the hydrophobic association between molecules, resulting in a denser hydrophobic association network structure and an increase in the apparent viscosity of the polymer solution. The viscoelasticity test revealed that as the salt concentration increased, the viscoelastic polymer solution increased after initially decreasing, which was consistent with previous salt tolerance test results. Additionally, it exhibited superior temperature resistance, shear tolerance, and shear recovery capabilities compared with conventional HPAM. Meanwhile, the DSAM polymer can be completely broken down in the industry-standard time without residue. The benefits of DSAM polymers include salt thickening, high-temperature resistance, and thorough gel breaking. Thus, it has huge potential as a thickening agent for temperature-tolerant and salt-resistant fracturing fluid.