Emergence of rheological properties in lattice Boltzmann simulations of gyroid mesophases

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that a lattice Boltzmann kinetic scheme can naturally produce rheological effects like shear thinning and viscoelasticity in amphiphilic fluids without macroscopic parameters, highlighting emergent complex flow behaviors.

Contribution

The study introduces a purely kinetic lattice Boltzmann model that predicts rheological effects emergently in gyroid mesophases without relying on macroscopic parameters.

Findings

Evidence of shear thinning in gyroid mesophases

Observation of viscoelastic flow behavior

Rheological properties emerge from microscopic interactions

Abstract

We use a lattice Boltzmann (LB) kinetic scheme for modelling amphiphilic fluids that correctly predicts rheological effects in flow. No macroscopic parameters are included in the model. Instead, three-dimensional hydrodynamic and rheological effects are emergent from the underlying particulate conservation laws and interactions. We report evidence of shear thinning and viscoelastic flow for a self-assembled gyroid mesophase. This purely kinetic approach is of general importance for the modelling and simulation of complex fluid flows in situations when rheological properties cannot be predicted {\em a priori}.