Shear flow of non-Brownian rod-sphere mixtures near jamming

TL;DR

This study investigates how the aspect ratio of non-Brownian rods influences shear rheology and jamming behavior in dense suspensions, revealing non-monotonic effects on viscosity and packing near jamming points.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the shear-driven jamming and rheology of rod-sphere mixtures, highlighting the role of aspect ratio and particle addition on suspension viscosity.

Findings

Shear jamming point varies non-monotonically with rod aspect ratio.

Adding short rods reduces suspension viscosity.

Adding long rods increases suspension viscosity.

Abstract

We use the discrete element method, taking particle contact and hydrodynamic lubrication into account, to unveil the shear rheology of suspensions of frictionless non-Brownian rods in the dense packing fraction regime. We find that, analogously to the random close packing volume fraction, the shear-driven jamming point of this system varies in a non-monotonic fashion as a function of the rod aspect ratio. The latter strongly influences how the addition of rod-like particles affects the rheological response of a suspension of frictionless non-Brownian spheres to an external shear flow. At fixed values of the total (rods plus spheres) packing fraction, the viscosity of the suspension is reduced by the addition of "short" ( $\leq 2$) rods but is instead increased by the addition of "long" ( $\geq2$) rods. A mechanistic interpretation is provided in terms of packing and excluded-volume arguments.