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Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Measuring Material Microstructure Under Flow Using 1-2 Plane Flow-Small Angle Neutron Scattering
Published on: February 6, 2014
Microscopic mechanism for shear thickening of non-Brownian suspensions
Nicolas Fernandez1, Roman Mani2, David Rinaldi3
1Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
We propose a simple model, supported by contact-dynamics simulations as well as rheology and friction measurements, that links the transition from continuous to discontinuous shear thickening in dense granular pastes to distinct lubrication regimes in the particle contacts. We identify a local Sommerfeld number that determines the transition from Newtonian to shear-thickening flows, and then show that the suspension's volume fraction and the boundary lubrication friction coefficient control the nature of the shear-thickening transition, both in simulations and experiments.
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