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Combining Microfluidics and Microrheology to Determine Rheological Properties of Soft Matter during Repeated Phase Transitions
Published on: April 19, 2018
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Celebrating Soft Matter's 10th Anniversary: toward jamming by design
1James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. h-jaeger@uchicago.edu.
Soft Matter
|November 12, 2014
Summary
Disordered soft matter can achieve high performance through jamming, enabling reversible transitions between solid-like rigidity and fluid-like plasticity for adaptive materials. This research explores harnessing disorder for novel material properties.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Traditionally, high performance in materials science relies on order and regularity.
- Disorder and defects are generally assumed to degrade material properties.
- However, recent research highlights opportunities to leverage disorder in soft matter.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review progress in harnessing disorder for material performance in soft matter.
- To explore the phenomenon of jamming and its emergent behaviors.
- To discuss the potential for adaptive materials with tunable stiffness and shape.
Main Methods:
- Reviewing existing research on jamming in various systems.
- Discussing examples across micro to macro scales.
- Focusing on controlling particle properties to tailor jammed states.
Main Results:
- Jamming enables disordered, amorphous systems to switch between rigidity and plasticity.
- This phenomenon is observed in colloidal systems, suspensions, and granular-enabled soft robotics.
- Tailoring particle properties allows for specific jamming behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Disorder, specifically jamming, can be harnessed in soft matter for unique material properties.
- Adaptive materials with controllable stiffness and shape are becoming feasible.
- Further research is paving the way for targeted design of jamming behavior.
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