Homogeneous Shear Research Articles

Mass and momentum balance during particle migration in the pressure-driven flow of frictional non-Brownian suspensions

The transient shear-induced particle migration of frictional non-Brownian suspensions is studied using particle-resolved simulations. The numerical method – the fictitious domain method – is well suited to heterogeneous flows thanks to a frame-invariant formulation of the subgrid (lubrication) corrections that does not involve the ambient flow (Orsi et al., J. Comput. Phys., vol. 474, 2023, 111823). The paper aims to give an accurate quantitative picture of the mass and momentum balance during the flow. The various assumptions and local constitutive laws that together form the suspension balance model (SBM) are thoroughly examined. To this purpose, the various quantities of interest are locally averaged in space and time, and their profile across the channel is extensively studied, with specific attention to the time evolution of the different contributions, either hydrodynamic in nature or from contact interactions, to the shear and normal stresses. The latter, together with the velocity gradient in the wall-normal direction and the volume fraction profile, yield the local constitutive laws, which are compared with their counterpart obtained in homogeneous shear flow. A fair agreement is observed except in a layering area at the boundaries and at the very centre of the channel. In addition, the main assumption of the SBM, i.e. the local relation between the hydrodynamic force on the particles and the particle flux, is meticulously investigated. The hydrodynamic force is found to be mainly a drag, except in the lower range of the probed volume fractions, where a non-drag contribution is observed.

[formula omitted] Twinning in hexagonal close-packed Re nanocrystals mediated by [formula omitted]|[formula omitted] interfacial facets

Twinning is an essential deformation mode of crystals which is attracting growing attention due to its potential in simultaneously improve the strength and ductility of metals. It is generally believed that twinning is mediated by shear and atomic shuffles on an invariant twinning plane. Here, by using in situ high resolution transmission electron microscopy, we report on an extension twinning mode in rhenium nanocrystals along the 〈101‾4‾〉 direction on the {202‾1} plane, which can be mediated by the formation of interfacial defects that fall between the parent prismatic plane and the twin pyramidal plane which are a pair of corresponding planes of the {202¯1} twinning mode. The incoherent twin boundary can partly evolve into the coherent twinning plane during detwinning. The findings provide direct evidences to the {202¯1} twin in hexagonal close-packed metals and corroborate the conjecture that twinning nucleation is essentially a transformation that conforms to and establishes the lattice correspondence which can be mediated by interfacial processes other than homogeneous shear on the twinning plane.

Transient behavior and steady-state rheology of dense frictional suspensions in pressure-driven channel flow

AbstractResults from particle-resolved Direct numerical simulations are presented for dense suspensions of frictional non-colloidal spheres in viscous pressure-driven channel flow. The bulk solid volume fraction varies between $$\phi _b=0.2$$ ϕ b = 0.2 and 0.6, and the Coulomb friction coefficient is either $$\mu _c = 0$$ μ c = 0 or 0.5. The main objectives are to unravel the influence of (1) $$\phi _b$$ ϕ b and $$\mu _c$$ μ c on the flow development time and of (2) heterogeneous shear on the steady-state suspension rheology. Starting from an initially homogeneous distribution, the particles show shear-induced migration toward the core until equilibrium is reached. The flow development time decays exponentially with increasing $$\phi _b/\Phi _R$$ ϕ b / Φ R , where $$\Phi _R$$ Φ R is a friction-dependent reference bulk concentration beyond which particle contacts cause a rapid increase in the particle stress. The steady-state rheology is studied by means of the ‘viscous’ and ‘frictional’ rheology frameworks. Excluding the central core and wall regions, the data for the local relative suspension viscosity collapse onto a single curve as function of the normalized local concentration $${\bar{\phi }}/\phi _m$$ ϕ ¯ / ϕ m , where $$\phi _m$$ ϕ m is the friction-dependent maximum flowable packing fraction. The frictional rheology shows ‘subyielding’ at low viscous number $$I_v$$ I v in the core region, where the macroscopic friction coefficient $$\mu $$ μ drops below the minimal value found for homogeneous shear flows. A modified frictional rheology model is presented that captures subyielding. Finally, a model is presented for $${\bar{\phi }}/\phi _{mp}$$ ϕ ¯ / ϕ mp as function of $$I_v$$ I v , where $$\phi _{mp}$$ ϕ mp is a modified maximum flowable packing fraction. It captures both ‘overcompaction’ in the core beyond $$\phi _{m}$$ ϕ m at high $$\phi _b$$ ϕ b and maximum core concentrations below $$\phi _m$$ ϕ m at lower $$\phi _b$$ ϕ b .

Numerical analysis of shape coefficients and bearing capacity factors of shallow foundations on heterogeneous soil

We often face heterogeneous foundation soils in geotechnics, which significantly influence shallow foundations' shape coefficients and bearing capacity factors. The evaluation of these factors introduces significant uncertainties in the thickness of the upper layer is comparable to the width of the rigid footing placed on the soil surface. This ambiguity depends on the geometry of the footing, the mechanical properties of the soil, and other geotechnical factors. Conducting thorough geotechnical studies and performing specific analyses are essential to accurately assess the effect of clay layering on the shape coefficients and bearing capacity factors of circular and square footings. A numerical analysis using the FLAC 2D and 3D software is carried out to evaluate the effect of the superposition of two undrained clay layers on the bearing capacity and shape factors of circular and square footings subjected to a static axial load. The aspects of homogeneous and heterogeneous shear strength profiles were addressed at various positions of the height of the first clay layer. It was found that the critical depth of the first clay layer necessary to optimize the bearing capacity of a foundation resting on stratified soil is 2, 1.5, and 1, respectively, for strip, square, and circular footings. The shape coefficient values range between 1.14 and 1.22 for square footings and between 0.98 and 1.64 for circular footings. The results are compared to previously published values in the literature.

Rheology and Structure of Model Smectite Clay: Insights From Molecular Dynamics

AbstractThe low frictional strength of smectite minerals, such as montmorillonite, is thought to play a critical role in controlling the rheology and the stability of clay‐rich faults. In this study, we perform molecular dynamics simulations on a model clay system. Clay platelets are simplified as oblate ellipsoids interacting via the Gay‐Berne potential. We study the rheology and structural development during shear in this model system, which is sheared at constant strain rates for 10 strains after compression and equilibrium. We find that the system exhibits velocity‐strengthening behavior over a range of normal stresses from 1.68 to 56.18 MPa and a range of strain rates from 6.93 × 105 to 6.93 × 108/s. The relationship between shear stress and strain rate follows the Herschel‐Bulkley model. Shear localization is observed at lower strain rates despite the velocity‐strengthening friction, while homogeneous shear is realized at higher strain rates. The structure change due to shear is analyzed from various aspects: the porosity, particle orientation, velocity profile, and the parallel radial distribution function. We find that particle rearrangement and compaction dominate at the early stage of shear when the shear stress increases. The shear band starts to form in the later stage as the shear stress decreases and relaxes to a steady‐state value. The structural development at low strain rates is similar to previous experimental observations. The stacking structure is reduced during shear and restores logarithmically with time in the rest period.

On The Determination Of Conditional Statistics Along Gradient Trajectories At The Turbulent/Non-Turbulent Interface Of Jet Flows.

Conditional sampling and averaging are valuable techniques for discerning and quantifying notable regions within turbulent flows. These methods have been particularly prevalent in experimental and numerical investigations of turbulent shear flows. Conditional statistics effectively analyze the dynamics and characteristics of turbulent flows, offering insights into transitional behaviors and distinct features within these regimes. This approach is instrumental in studying turbulent shear flows, such as jets or mixing layers, where a well-defined zone separates the turbulent core from the non-turbulent surrounding fluid. This zone, known as the Turbulent/Non-Turbulent Interface (TNTI), plays a crucial role in various phenomenological changes, including the transfer of mass, momentum, and scalar fluxes. While statistics in jet flows are often reported along the radial direction for a given downstream position, this method can obscure the underlying physical processes. Scalar dissipation rate, transport, or turbulent kinetic energy involve velocity or concentration gradients at the flow interface. To date, the impact of sampling direction on conditional statistics within jet flows has not yet been thoroughly discussed. This study focuses on determining gradient trajectories at the interface of turbulent flows. Gradient trajectories have been used to explore structures in turbulent flows, proving effective in analyzing homogeneous shear turbulence. This study introduces a methodology for sampling conditional data by computing gradient trajectories intersecting the TNTI. The primary objective is to verify whether sampling statistics along the gradient of scalar concentration provide a more detailed understanding of the processes occurring near the TNTI. The methodology involves computing a field of gradient trajectories from concentration fields obtained through Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) in a N2/N2 jet with Re = 2900. Conditional statistics at the TNTI of a jet flow along the gradient trajectory for a given downstream position are calculated and reported. The paper aims to compare conditional statistics along gradient trajectories with those obtained along radial and normal directions at the TNTI. It is expected that gradient trajectory statistics align more closely with normal direction statistics near the interface and diverge as it gets into the jet or coflow fluid.

Superadiabatic dynamical density functional theory for colloidal suspensions under homogeneous steady-shear.

The superadiabatic dynamical density functional theory (superadiabatic-DDFT) is a promising new method for the study of colloidal systems out-of-equilibrium. Within this approach, the viscous forces arising from interparticle interactions are accounted for in a natural way by explicitly treating the dynamics of the two-body correlations. For bulk systems subject to spatially homogeneous shear, we use the superadiabatic-DDFT framework to calculate the steady-state pair distribution function and the corresponding viscosity for low values of the shear-rate. We then consider a variant of the central approximation underlying this superadiabatic theory and obtain an inhomogeneous generalization of a rheological bulk theory due to Russel and Gast. This paper thus establishes for the first time a connection between DDFT approaches, formulated to treat inhomogeneous systems, and existing work addressing nonequilibrium microstructure and rheology in bulk colloidal suspensions.

A granular micromechanic-based model for Ultra High Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (UHP FRC)

There is a growing interest in the application of UHP FRC (Ultra-High Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete) which has been under vigorous development since its inception over two decades ago. The advantages of these advanced materials is that they overcome the problems that plague conventional concrete, these include among others low residual strength and low tensile strength, poor crack control and resistance to crack propagation, which leads corrosion of the rebars and spalling. The aim of this paper is to provide a granular micromechanics-based model to describe the deformation behavior of UHP FRC material as it gives a robust method to link the micro-scale mechanisms with the macro-scale performance of materials with granular textures. In this model, the micro-scale is described by damage-elasto-plastic spring elements that represent the effective grain pair interactions decomposed into the so-called normal and tangential directions. Since the grain-pairs are variously oriented, the macro-scale response is obtained by integrating these interactions over the orientational space. Here we specialize the granular micromechanic model for UHP FRC by introducing a novel expression for the parameterized dissipation energy at the micro or the grain-pair scale. The newly introduced constitutive parameters are identified using experimental results for uniaxial extension and compression tests. The model is then applied to simulate the case of homogeneous compression, extension and shear to show the directional evolution of damage and plasticity and the consequent emergent anisotropy.

Considering cell viability in 3D printing of structured inks: A comparative and equivalent analysis of fluid forces

In conventional extrusion-based three-dimensional (3D) printing (E3DP), smaller needles reduce cell viability due to increased fluid forces like pressure and shear stress. A novel E3DP approach has emerged, involving 3D printing with structured inks. Fluid forces in both conventional and structured ink-based methods were evaluated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. By employing 18G needles, we showcased the advantages of structured inks, including 2-symmetric, 4-symmetric, vascular-like, and hepatic lobule analogue-like inks, which demonstrated consistently lower pressures and shear stress compared with conventional inks. Specifically, vascular-like inks with a 2:1:1 extruded fiber layer distance showed significantly lower shear stress (average 6.595e+0 Pa, maximum 2.069e+2 Pa) than conventional methods. Equivalent analyses explored commonly used symmetric and core–shell inks, examining fluid forces on cells. Particularly, in core–shell inks with a 2.8 mm core layer radius, cells in the flow domain of the shell layer experienced an equivalent viscosity of 3.70 Pa·s, while in the core layer, it was 1.72 Pa·s. The analyses revealed a positive correlation between equivalent homogeneous ink viscosity and shear stress. The proposed workflow, emphasizing cell viability, offers an efficient approach for structured ink design. Also, experiments that used vascular-like ink-based printing as an example indicated significantly higher cell viability when compared with conventional printing. This research provides valuable insights for enhancing cell viability in 3D printing and advancing printing material design.

Simulation of fiber-induced melt pressure fluctuations within large scale polymer composite deposition beads

The process-structure-property relationship in Large Area Additive Manufacturing (LAAM) technology is an ongoing area of research as the inherent microstructural properties (chiefly fibers and voids) affect the performance of printed parts. Unfortunately, we currently lack adequate understanding of micro void nucleation and evolution during the LAAM and fused deposition modelling (FDM) processes. Modeling of the polymer melt flow during the extrusion process is important in understanding the underlying microstructural formation and associated properties of the print, that determines the part performance in service conditions. In this paper we compute fiber-induced local pressure fluctuations which may promote void formation in the bead’s microstructure. On a macro-scale, we determine flow fields of a purely viscous, Newtonian planar polymer deposition flow through a LAAM nozzle which are utilized on a micro-scale model where we simulate the evolution of a single ellipsoidal fiber along streamlines obtained from the macro-model. On the micro-scale, we determine instantaneous values of the translational and rotational velocities of the rigid ellipsoidal fiber that satisfies a balance of hydrodynamic forces and couples on the fiber’s surface based on a Newton Raphson algorithm and we track the fiber’s motion along the flow path via an explicit numerical iterative algorithm. Model verification is achieved by benchmarking results with solutions from well-known Jeffery’s equation of motion of a particle in homogeneous simple shear flow. We account for rotary diffusivity due to short-range fiber-fiber interaction in the FEA simulation by determining an effective fluid domain size representative of the interaction coefficient of the melt flow through a correlation analysis that yields an equivalent steady state orientation based on the Advani-Tucker equation. We also consider different possible motions of the fiber along individual LAAM flow paths from a given set of random initial fiber conditions to determine pressure bounds on the fiber surface along each streamline. For improved computational efficiency, calculations are carried out with respect to the fiber’s local coordinate axes to overcome the rigor of adaptive remeshing during the quasi-transient analysis. Results show low pressure extremes near the fiber’s surface which varies across the printed bead as well as through its thickness. Discussion is provided to gain insight into the effect of low-pressure extremes on micro void formation, particularly at the nozzle exit and during die swell/expansion.

The motion of three-dimensional fractal aggregates in homogeneous shear flow

A model for the motion of aggregates in low Reynolds number flow has been established by utilizing the Stokesian dynamics and applying the quaternion as global attitude parameter. The model has been validated by the theorical solution of sphere doublet in shear flow, the simple helical aggregates, and the experiment on the settling of some specific objects in still water. The motion of fractal aggregates has been further studied, aiming to get better understanding of the dynamic behavior of fine-grained sediment flocs in shear flow. The fractal aggregates have been generated using the diffusion-limited aggregation model, which has similar fractal dimension as natural flocs. The results illustrate that fractal aggregates undergo a complex rotation in shear flow, which exhibit a bi-periodic characteristic. The motion of a particle within the fractal aggregate shows three-dimensional trajectory in a simple shear flow, affected by its initial orientation. The major rotation period is approximately 4π/γ̇, which corresponds to the rotation period of a sphere with shear strength γ̇. The deviation decreases with the increase in the size of the fractal aggregate.

Shear banding in monodisperse polymer melt

We performed a series of molecular dynamics simulations on monodisperse polymer melts to investigate the formation of shear banding. Under high shear rates, shear banding occurs, which is intimately accompanied by the entanglement heterogeneity. Interestingly, the same linear relationship between the end-to-end distance Ree and entanglement density Z is observed at homogeneous flow before the onset of shear banding and at the shear banding state, where Ree ∼ ln(Wi0.87)−ξ0Z is proposed as the criterion to describe the dynamic force balance of the molecular chain in flow with a high rate. Deviating from this relation leads to a force imbalance and results in the emergence of shear banding. We establish a scaling relation between the disentanglement rate Vd and the Weissenberg number Wi as Vd∼Wi0.87 for stable flow in homogeneous shear and shear banding states. The formation of shear banding prevents chains from further stretching and disentanglement. The transition from homogeneous shear to shear banding partially dissipates the increased free energy from shear and reduces the free energy of the system.

Lattice Boltzmann simulations of homogeneous shear turbulence laden with finite-size particles

As a powerful tool to investigate turbulent flows laden with finite-size particles, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM)'s capability to contribute to a particle-resolved simulation of particle-laden homogeneous shear turbulence (HST) has yet to be realized. To capture the turbulence-particle interactions more accurately, the interpolated-bounce-back schemes combined with the momentum-exchange method that possesses second-order accuracy are adopted to treat the no-slip condition on particle surfaces and compute the hydrodynamic force/torque. However, this choice brings extra difficulties in enforcing the shear periodic boundaries due to the absence of fluid information in solid regions. The present study resolves these difficulties by designing a scheme to construct the distribution functions in the particle gaps based on the lubrication theory and an algorithm for the “refilling” process near the shear periodic boundaries. With these developments, a direct numerical simulation of particle-laden HST is achieved with LBM. The turbulence modulation effects induced by particles are briefly discussed.

On the interaction of Taylor length-scale size droplets and homogeneous shear turbulence

The main objective of the present work is to explain the physical mechanisms occurring in droplet-laden homogeneous shear turbulence (HST) with a focus on the modulation of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) caused by the droplets. To achieve such an objective, first, we performed direct numerical simulations (DNS) of HST laden with droplets of initial diameter approximately equal to twice the Taylor length scale of turbulence, droplet-to-fluid density and viscosity ratios equal to ten and a 5 % droplet volume fraction. We investigated the effects of shear number and Weber number on the modulation of TKE for $Sh \approx 2$ and $4$ , and $0.02 \le {{We_{rms}}} \le 0.5$ . Then, we derived the TKE equations for the two-fluid, carrier-fluid and droplet-fluid flow in HST and the relationship between the power of surface tension and the rate of change of total droplet surface area, providing the pathways of TKE for two-fluid incompressible HST. Our DNS results show that, for ${{We_{rms}}} = 0.02$ , the rate of change of TKE is increased with respect to the single-phase cases, for ${{We_{rms}}} = 0.1$ , the rate of change of TKE oscillates near the value for the single-phase cases and, for ${{We_{rms}}} = 0.5$ , the rate of change of TKE is decreased with respect to the single-phase cases. Such modulation is explained from the analysis of production, dissipation and power of surface tension in the carrier-fluid and droplet-fluid flows. Finally, we explain the effects of droplets on the production and dissipation rate of TKE through the droplet ‘catching-up’ mechanism, and on the power of the surface tension through the droplet ‘shearing’ mechanism.

Experimental investigation of the shear response of large-scale fibre-reinforced concrete panels

Although fibre-reinforced concrete has been the subject of extensive research for decades, its mechanical behaviour in shear is still not well understood. Furthermore, hardly any large-scale shear tests on elements with moderate fibre contents have been conducted to date. The present paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting and discussing the results of an experimental campaign on large-scale fibre-reinforced concrete shear panels. Six panels with dimensions of 2.00 m × 2.00 m × 0.27 m were tested in the Large Universal Shell Element Tester at ETH Zurich by applying homogeneous shear. In four of these experiments, the in-plane shear was combined with homogeneous uniaxial compression by simulating the longitudinal restraint provided by the chords in a girder. Five tests focused on concrete of normal strength with moderate fibre contents and one test studied the behaviour of ultra high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete. The combined application of digital image correlation instrumentation and distributed fibre optical sensing allowed gaining a deeper insight into the structural behaviour of the panels. Overall, the test results showed the high efficiency of the fibres as shear reinforcement in large-scale web elements. However, failure of the panels without any steel reinforcing bars was rather brittle, with only few cracks forming over the element. The provision of a moderate amount of distributed longitudinal bar reinforcement has been found to be highly beneficial to the crack behaviour and thus significantly increase the ductility.

Direct numerical simulation of homogeneous shear turbulence subject to a shear periodic boundary with the lattice Boltzmann method

Direct numerical simulation of homogeneous shear turbulence subject to a shear periodic boundary with the lattice Boltzmann method

Reynolds-stress root modeling based on a statistical theory

A new methodology of turbulence modeling is proposed by combining a statistical theory [T. Ariki, Phys. Fluids 31, 065104 (2019)] and the Reynolds-stress-root method [T. Ariki, Phys. Rev. E 92, 053010 (2015)], aiming at realizing practical turbulence model of wider applicability with the help of theoretical support. The resultant model integrates, at the same time, the following five features: coordinate covariance, realizability condition, near-wall behavior, history effect, and streamline curvature effect, which are all key ingredients to build up better turbulence model mimicking realistic behaviors. Numerical assessments of the model are conducted for homogeneous shear flow, channel flow, flow in a rotating pipe, and flow between concentric annuli, all of which show reasonable agreement with direct numerical simulations and experiments.

Classical and “non-classical” twins in Ni2MnGa: Phenomenological versus mechanistic modelling

The characteristic crystallography of “classical” twins was set out over 60 years ago by Bilby and Crocker: a twin boundary is an invariant plane, and the adjacent crystals are interrelated by a homogeneous simple shear. In subsequent work, Crocker and Bevis introduced the notion of “non-classical” twinning, where, as before, the adjacent crystals are interrelated phenomenologically by a homogeneous simple shear, but where the misfit-free interface plane is not invariant. Later experimental studies revealed that “classical” twins actually grow by glissile motion of interfacial line-defects with both dislocation and step character, now known as disconnections. This inhomogeneous shear mechanism has been expounded in the topological model of interfaces developed by Pond and Hirth. In the present paper, experimental observations of “non-classical” twins in Ni2MnGa by Seiner et al. are analysed using the phenomenological and topological approaches. It is concluded that the descriptor “non-classical” is not appropriate because physically feasible glissile disconnections cannot arise in these boundaries. Instead, the boundaries are immobile, misfit-free grain boundaries formed at the intersection of “classical” compound twins.

On the scale locality and vortex stretching in homogeneous shear turbulence

The interscale transfer of kinetic energy and Reynolds stress in homogeneous shear turbulence (HST) is numerically investigated using three-dimensional bandpass filtering technique. The flow fields of a statistically steady HST are obtained using direct numerical simulation at three Reynolds numbers 2000, 5000, and 12 500 based on box depth. Visualizations of typical flow structures of bandpass filtered fields show that the small-scale structures are nearly isotropic, whereas the large-scale ones show the preferential alignment with the direction of mean shear. Quantitative results of both kinetic energy and Reynolds stress fluxes between two specific scales show the existence of scale locality. In specific, the eddies of a length scale L mostly transfer their energy or Reynolds stress to eddies of size 0.3L to 0.4L, which seems to be independent in the limit of the high Reynolds number. Furthermore, through the analysis on the vortex stretching, it is shown that the small-scale structures of scale Lω are stretched mostly by straining structures of size about 2 Lω, while large-scale structures are stretched mostly by mean shear. Finally, the evaluation of alignment between vortical structures and strain rate shows that small-scale structures are more likely to align with the strain structures of five times their size, and large-scale ones are mainly align with the mean shear strain. These findings can help enhance our comprehension of the interscale transfer and scale interaction of vortical structures in turbulence.

Mechanisms of Shear Band Formation in Heterogeneous Materials Under Compression: The Role of Pre‐Existing Mechanical Flaws

AbstractShear bands critically govern the shear failure processes and associated geophysical phenomena, for example, faulting, in Earth's crust. Earlier studies on homogeneous materials recognized temperature and strain rate as principal factors controlling the band growth. However, how inherent mechanical heterogeneities can influence their growth mechanisms and complex internal structures needs further investigations. The present article revisits this problem by combining field observations and laboratory experiments, supported by numerical simulations considering geological strain‐rates. Field studies in the Chotanagpur Granite Gneissic Complex of eastern India reveal varied types of macro‐scale shear zone localization. We conducted plane‐strain compression experiments on rock‐analogue models to investigate their origin. The experiments show that mechanical heterogeneities develop wide bands, localized preferentially in their neighborhood, unlike uniformly distributed, conjugate sets of closely spaced narrow bands in a homogeneous system. The wide bands eventually attain a composite structure, containing a core of densely packed band‐parallel sharp secondary bands, flanked by linear zones of closely spaced, narrow bands. We also demonstrate the effects of global strain‐rate on the band evolution in heterogeneous systems. Decreasing strain‐rates replace the composite bands by well‐defined homogeneous shear bands, containing a core of uniform shear, bordered by weakly sheared narrow zones, grading into almost undeformed walls. The experimental results are complemented with numerical models based on visco‐elasto‐plastic rheology, which establish appropriate scaling of the rock analogue to mid‐crustal deformations. This integrated approach finally leads us to conclude that inherent heterogeneities can result in large variations of shear band structures in geological terrains.