Linear and nonlinear rheology of dense emulsions: Identifying the glass and jamming regimes

TL;DR

This paper explores the rheological behavior of dense emulsions, identifying the transition from liquid to solid states through glass and jamming regimes, supported by simulations and experimental validation.

Contribution

It provides a quantitative framework linking droplet volume fraction to elastic and yield properties, clarifying the glass and jamming regimes in soft colloidal systems.

Findings

Elastic shear modulus depends on droplet volume fraction

Yield stress increases with compression and volume fraction

Clear experimental agreement with theoretical predictions

Abstract

We discuss the linear and non-linear rheology of concentrated (sub)microscale emulsions, amorphous disordered solids composed of repulsive and deformable soft colloidal spheres. Based on recent results from simulation and theory, we derive quantitative predictions for the dependences of the elastic shear modulus and the yield stress on the droplet volume fraction. The remarkable agreement with experiments we observe supports the scenario that the repulsive glass and the jammed state can be clearly identified in the rheology of soft spheres at finite temperature while crossing continuously from a liquid to a highly compressed yet disordered solid.