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Using Acoustic Perturbations to Dynamically Tune Shear Thickening in Colloidal Suspensions

Cornell Affiliated Author(s)

Author

P. Sehgal
M. Ramaswamy
Itai Cohen
B.J. Kirby

Abstract

Colloidal suspensions in industrial processes often exhibit shear thickening that is difficult to control actively. Here, we use piezoelectric transducers to apply acoustic perturbations to dynamically tune the suspension viscosity in the shear-thickening regime. We attribute the mechanism of dethickening to the disruption of shear-induced force chains via perturbations that are large relative to the particle roughness scale. The ease with which this technique can be adapted to various flow geometries makes it a powerful tool for actively controlling suspension flow properties and investigating system dynamics. © 2019 American Physical Society.

Date Published

Journal

Physical Review Letters

Volume

123

Issue

12

URL

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85072809849&doi=10.1103%2fPhysRevLett.123.128001&partnerID=40&md5=850c346de0aae980b837a6dbe50245a6

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.128001

Research Area

Group (Lab)

Itai Cohen Group

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