# Interaction network analysis in shear thickening suspensions

## TL;DR

This study analyzes the topology of frictional force networks in shear-thickening suspensions, revealing how network structures evolve with stress and packing fraction, and linking microscopic interactions to macroscopic rheology.

## Contribution

It introduces topological measures, including persistent homology, to characterize force networks in shear-thickening suspensions, connecting network topology with rheological behavior.

## Key findings

- Force networks become more isotropic with increased stress.
- Topological measures correlate with viscosity and jamming behavior.
- Loop significance scales near jamming fraction.

## Abstract

Dense, stabilized, frictional particulate suspensions in a viscous liquid undergo increasingly strong continuous shear thickening (CST) as the solid packing fraction, $\phi$, increases above a critical volume fraction, and discontinuous shear thickening (DST) is observed for even higher packing fractions. Recent studies have related shear thickening to a transition from mostly lubricated to predominantly frictional contacts with the increase in stress. The rheology and networks of frictional forces from two and three-dimensional simulations of shear-thickening suspensions are studied. These are analyzed using measures of the topology of the network, including tools of persistent homology. We observe that at low stress the frictional interaction networks are predominantly quasi-linear along the compression axis. With an increase in stress, the force networks become more isotropic, forming loops in addition to chain-like structures. The topological measures of Betti numbers and total persistence provide a compact means of describing the mean properties of the frictional force networks and provide a key link between macroscopic rheology and the microscopic interactions. A total persistence measure describing the significance of loops in the force network structure, as a function of stress and packing fraction, shows behavior similar to that of relative viscosity and displays a scaling law near the jamming fraction for both dimensionalities simulated.