Shear-induced phase behavior of bidisperse jammed suspensions of soft particles

R. Alrashdan, H. K. Yankan, M. Cloître, F. Khabaz
Physics of Fluids 2024, 36, 073333, https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0216758

Particle dynamics simulations are used to determine the shear-induced microstructure and rheology of jammed suspensions of soft particles. These suspensions, known as soft particle glasses (SPGs), have an amorphous structure at rest but transform into ordered phases in strong shear flow when the particle size distribution is relatively monodisperse. Here, a series of bidisperse SPGs with different particle radii and number density ratios are considered, and their shear-induced phase diagrams are correlated with the macroscopic rheology at different shear rates and volume fractions. These shear-induced phase diagrams reveal that a combination of these parameters can lead to the emergence of various microstructures such as amorphous, layered, crystals, and in some cases, coexistence of amorphous and ordered phases. The evolution of the shear stress is correlated with the change in the microstructure and is a shear-activated process. Stress shows pseudo-steady behavior during an induction period before the final microstructural change leading to the formation of ordered structures. The outcomes provide a promising method to control the phase behavior of soft suspensions and build new self-assembled microstructures.