Shear jamming and nonlinear rheology of chocolate suspensions

TL;DR

This study explores the complex flow behavior of chocolate suspensions, revealing how friction and adhesion influence shear jamming and rheology, with implications for modeling and processing of dense, adhesive suspensions.

Contribution

It provides experimental insights into the nonlinear rheology and shear jamming of chocolate pastes, highlighting the roles of friction and adhesion in flow behavior.

Findings

Viscosity fits with Maron-Pierce model showing stress-dependent flow limits

Identification of stress-dependent yield loci in the (, ) plane

Adhesive contact networks dominate stress transmission in pastes

Abstract

We experimentally investigate the rheology of dark chocolate pastes in both industrially relevant pre-refined form and simplified model systems. Steady and oscillatory shear experiments reveal yielding, pronounced shear-thinning, and stress-dependent hysteresis governed by solid loading. Fitting the viscosity data with the Maron-Pierce model provides stress-dependent maximum flowable fractions $\phi_{\rm{m}}(\sigma)$, defining yield loci in the $(\phi, \sigma)$ plane. Their variation with stress quantifies the coupled roles of friction and adhesion in setting flow limits. Large-amplitude oscillatory shear tests characterize transitions from elastic to viscous behavior and identify distinct recovery pathways near jamming. Contact-stress decomposition separates hydrodynamic and frictional contributions, confirming that adhesive contact networks dominate stress transmission in pre-refined pastes. These results establish chocolate pastes as dense, adhesive suspensions whose flow is controlled by the interplay of friction and adhesion, offering quantitative benchmarks for constitutive modeling and linking chocolate processing to the broader physics of constraint rheology.