Poiseuille Flow of Soft Polycrystals in 2D Rough Channels

Polycrystals are partially ordered solids where crystalline order extends over mesoscopic length scales, namely, the grain size. We study the Poisuielle flow of such materials in a rough channel. In general, similar to yield stress fluids, three distinct dynamical states, namely, flowing, stick-slip, and jammed can be observed, with a yield threshold dependent on channel width. Importantly, the interplay between the finite channel width, and the intrinsic ordering scale (the grain size) leads to a new type of spatiotemporal heterogeneity. In wide channels, although the average flow profile remains pluglike, at the underlying granular level, there is vigorous grain remodeling activity resulting from the velocity heterogeneity among the grains. As the channel width approaches typical grain size, the flowing polycrystalline state breaks up into a spatially heterogeneous mixture of flowing liquid like patches and chunks of nearly static grains. Despite these static grains, the average velocity still shows a parabolic profile, dominated by the moving liquidlike patches. However, the solid-liquid front moves at nearly constant speed in the opposite direction of the external drive.