Nonlinear Rheology Research Articles

Nonlinear Rheology at Shallow Depths with Reference to the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes

Abstract Strong S waves produce dynamic stresses, which bring the shallow subsurface into nonlinear inelastic failure. We examine implications of nonlinear viscous flow, which may be appropriate for shallow muddy soil, and contrast them with those of Coulomb friction within a shallow reverberating uppermost layer with low‐seismic velocities. Waves refract into essentially vertical paths at the shallow layers and produce tractions on horizontal planes. The Coulomb ratio of shear traction to lithostatic stress for S waves equals the resolved horizontal acceleration normalized to the acceleration of gravity. The ratio of dynamic vertical normal traction to lithostatic stresses is the vertical normalized acceleration from P waves. The predicted viscous inelastic strain rate in muddy soil begins at low normalized accelerations and then increases mildly and nonlinearly with increasing normalized acceleration. Failure is unaffected when P waves decrease the vertical normal traction. Seismic waves recorded at KiK‐net station KMMH16 for the 2016 Kumamoto mainshock and strong foreshock show these effects. Inelastic deformation commences at a normalized horizontal acceleration of ∼0.25 and reduces S‐ and P‐wave velocities within the uppermost ∼15 m reverberating layer. Normalized horizontal accelerations and the Coulomb stress ratio reach ∼1.25. Strong S waves arrived even when strong P waves produced vertical tension on horizontal planes. In contrast, inelastic Coulomb failure commences at a normalized horizontal acceleration equal to the effective coefficient of friction; rapid inelastic strain precludes even higher accelerations. Furthermore, horizontal planes should fail from the stresses of strong S waves during the tensional cycle of strong P waves.

3D modelling of the effect of thermal-elastic stress on grain-boundary opening in quartz grain aggregates

During the exhumation of rocks and the associated temperature and pressure decrease, the anisotropic thermoelastic properties of minerals lead to internal stresses on the grain scale, which in turn cause fracturing and opening of grain and phase boundaries. To gain deeper insight into the onset of grain-boundary cracking and the subsequent evolution of grain-boundary fracture networks after crack initiation, 3D grain-scale numerical modelling has been performed. In detail, the fracturing and opening of quartz grain boundaries during exhumation of quartzite with millimeter-scale grains and randomly oriented crystallographic axes, accompanied by cooling from 300 to 25°C and decompression from 300 to 22MPa, have been modelled with contact mechanics and the finite-element method. Model grains have an anisotropic linear-elastic rheology and an anisotropic thermal-expansion tensor. Grain boundaries are modelled as contact surfaces with a non-linear strain-softening rheology in tension and a Mohr-Coulomb rheology in shear. Grain-boundary fractures nucleate at grain vertices and triple lines, in agreement with observations in nature and experiment. Comparison with grain-boundary opening data from natural quartzite indicates that the tensile yield strength (σy) of quartz grain boundaries has an upper bound of 75MPa, with best-fit results for σy=25MPa. Moreover, the best-fit model implies that quartz grain-boundary opening initiates after a temperature and pressure decrease of around 80°C and 80MPa.

Ultrafast imaging of soft materials during shear flow

The direct imaging of flow induced microstructural changes in complex fluids can have advantages over the use of scattering methods, since localized phenomena can be observed directly and more mechanistic insights can be obtained. This is useful in particular for materials with hierarchical or multiscale structures such as aggregated dispersions. Rheoconfocal instruments are ideally suited for this purpose but were, as yet, limited to relatively low imaging rates. In the present work, a stress-controlled rheometer was coupled to a fast scanning, instant structured illumination confocal microscope which uses a multi-array illumination and detection scheme. A second motor is integrated in a custom-made rheoconfocal instrument to achieve the counter-rotation of the lower glass plate. The resulting stagnation plane can be moved within the shearing gap in real time and allows the stable imaging of micro-structural features under steady shear. Velocity profiles were measured to validate the performance of the mechanical components, using particle image velocimetry on a sterically stabilized suspension. Structured illumination optics yielded an excellent inplane spatial resolution, while the multipoint scanning allows speeds as high as 1000 frames per second at full frame resolution. However, for rheological studies the 3D structure should ideally be resolved. The mechanical refocusing using a fast piezo stage at high speeds led to deformations of the lower thin glass plate. To circumvent this bottleneck, a focus-tunable lens was incorporated in the setup to acquire 3D image volumes at video rates. The excellent combination of temporal and spatial resolution under flow is demonstrated here using selected results from aggregated colloidal dispersions. The microstructure of a model depletion gel is studied over a broad range of shear rates under strong to moderate flow conditions. The ability to measure rheological properties while imaging the time-dependent microstructure is demonstrated with particles dispersed in a more viscous PDMS matrix. Transient rheology is reported simultaneously with high resolution imaging of the microscopic structural recovery. This novel tool enables the direct imaging of rheologically complex materials under conditions relevant to processing, to elucidate the physical phenomena underlying nonlinear rheology and thixotropy.

Nonlinear interfacial rheology and atomic force microscopy of air-water interfaces stabilized by whey protein beads and their constituents

In recent years, food-grade Pickering particles have gained considerable interest, because of their ability to form stable emulsions and foams. Such Pickering stabilizers are often produced by aggregation of proteins, which typically results in a mixture of cross-linked particles and unbound proteins (smaller constituents). This study focuses on the possible contribution to the interfacial behaviour of these smaller constituents in whey protein isolate (WPI) bead suspensions, which are produced by cold-gelation of WPI aggregates. To understand the interfacial properties of the total mixture, we have studied the involved structures and interactions hierarchically, from native WPI, to aggregates, and finally gel beads.Air-water interfaces were subjected to large amplitude oscillatory dilatation (LAOD) and shear (LAOS) using a drop tensiometer and a double wall ring geometry. The non-linear responses were analysed using Lissajous plots. The plots of native WPI- and aggregates-stabilized interfaces showed a rheological behaviour of a viscoelastic solid, while bead-stabilized interfaces tended to have a weaker and more fluid-like behaviour.The interfacial microstructure was analysed by imaging Langmuir-Blodgett films of the protein systems using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The native WPI and aggregate films had a highly heterogeneous structure in which the proteins form a dense clustered network. The beads are randomly distributed throughout the film, separated by large areas, where smaller proteinaceous material is present. This smaller and surface-active material present in the bead suspensions plays an important role in interface stabilization, and could also largely influence the macroscopic properties of interface-dominated systems.

Role of particle morphology in the yielding behavior of dense thermosensitive microgel suspensions

ABSTRACTThe yielding behavior of dense thermosensitive microgel suspensions of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) with two different particle morphologies viz core–shell (CS) morphology and particles with uniform crosslink density were studied. Structural properties were examined using dynamic light scattering and yielding behavior was investigated by nonlinear oscillatory rheology. Suspensions of particles with uniform crosslinking density showed a typical hard sphere like behavior with the loss modulus (G″) exhibiting a single peak due to cage breaking while CS type particles shows a double yielding at different ranges of strain similar to that seen in attractive colloidal glasses. The first yielding process in CS microgels is interpreted as due to the disentanglement of the overlapped polymer chains from the shells of the neighboring microgels and the second yielding process due to the breakage of cages formed by neighboring microgel particles. Current study suggests that the interpenetration of polymer chains at high concentrations sets in an attractive like potential leading to double yielding phenomena in an otherwise purely repulsive system. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48625.

Relaxation Behavior and Nonlinear Surface Rheology of PEO-PPO-PEO Triblock Copolymers at the Air-Water Interface.

Surface dilatational viscoelasticity of adsorbed layers of pluronics triblock copolymers at the air-water interface was measured using the oscillating barrier technique. The effect of molecular architecture and concentration on surface viscoelasticity was explored for two different types of pluronics with different degrees of hydrophobicity, Pluronic F-108 (Mw ≈ 14 600 g/mol) and Pluronic P-123 (Mw ≈ 5800 g/mol), the former exhibiting a larger hydrophilic to hydrophobic block length ratio. Frequency sweeps in the linear regime suggested that interfacial films of F-108 have higher surface limiting elasticity and larger in-plane and out-of-plane relaxation times at the same bulk concentration (the former possibly related to in-plane microstructure rearrangements, the latter to surface/bulk diffusion). Increasing the bulk concentration of pluronics from 1 to 100 μM led to a decrease in both in- and out-of-plane relaxation times. Large amplitude oscillatory dilatation (LAOD) tests were performed to capture nonlinear behavior of these interfacial films by means of elastic and viscous Lissajous plots. Nonlinearities in elastic responses were quantified through calculation of the strain-stiffening indices in extension SE and compression SC. Both pluronics exhibited strain softening in extension. In compression, P-123 showed strain-hardening and F-108 displayed a relatively linear response. Apparent strain hardening in extension was observed for the P-123 adsorbed film, at high strain, at a bulk concentration of 100 μM. However, at these strains, the response was dominated by the viscous contribution and calculation of strain rate-thickening factors in extension and compression showed that the overall response was strain rate-thinning in extension and strain rate-thickening in compression.

Linear and Nonlinear Dynamic Behavior of Polymer Micellar Assemblies Connected by Metallo-Supramolecular Interactions.

The linear and nonlinear rheology of associative colloidal polymer assemblies with metallo-supramolecular interactions is herein studied. Polystyrene-b-poly(tert-butylacrylate) with a terpyridine ligand at the end of the acrylate block is self-assembled into micelles in ethanol, a selective solvent for the latter block, and supramolecularly connected by complexation to divalent metal ions. The dependence of the system elasticity on polymer concentration can be semi-quantitatively understood by a geometrical packing model. For strongly associated (Ni2+, Fe2+) and sufficiently concentrated systems (15 w/v%), any given ligand end-group has a virtually 100% probability of being located in an overlapping hairy region between two micelles. By assuming a 50% probability of intermicellar crosslinks being formed, an excellent prediction of the plateau modulus was achieved and compared with the experimental results. For strongly associated but somewhat more dilute systems (12 w/v%) that still have significant overlap between hairy regions, the experimental modulus was lower than the predicted value, as the effective number of crosslinkers was further reduced along with possible density heterogeneities. The reversible destruction of the network by shear forces can be observed from the strain dependence of the storage and loss moduli. The storage moduli of the Ni2+ and Zn2+ systems at a lower concentration (12 w/v%) showed a rarely observed feature (i.e., a peak at the transition from linear to nonlinear regime). This peak disappeared at a higher concentration (15 w/v%). This behavior can be rationalized based on concentration-dependent network stretchability.

Aging of natural rubber studied via Fourier-transform rheology and double quantum NMR to correlate local chain dynamics with macroscopic mechanical response

Nowadays mainly the linear rheological properties of natural rubber (NR) vulcanizate during aging are studied, even though NR is rheologically nonlinear under most application conditions. Here, the nonlinearity was quantified via Fourier transform rheology (FT-Rheology) using I3/1, the relative intensity of the 3rd harmonic. The crosslink density and the content of defects were investigated by the 1H double quantum nuclear magnetic resonance (DQ-NMR). For aerobic aging at 120 °C, the crosslink density increases, but later turns into a broader mesh size distribution with more defects. Accordingly, the rheological nonlinearity of the material increases in the earlier stage and then decreases. For mechanical aging, the nonlinearity continuously decreases as a function of the fatigue cycle numbers, whereas the local crosslink density of the polymer network remains constant. This behavior can be assigned to the micro-cracks generated along adjacent network defects, which are larger than the detection scale of DQ-NMR. Compared to the linear rheological parameters, storage modulus G′ and loss factor tanδ, I3/1 exhibits higher sensitivity to the aging of crosslinked NR under both high temperature aerobic and mechanical fatigue conditions.

Rheology of polymer multilayers: Slip in shear, hardening in extension

The nonlinear rheology of multilayer stacks of alternating isotactic polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) films with N layers was measured in shear and uniaxial extension. We show that the force to extend N − 1 interfaces can lead to strain hardening. We studied three PE/PP pairs: a Ziegler–Natta catalyzed pair and two metallocene pairs, one with high density PE and one with linear low density PE. Interfacial tension was measured on matrix/droplet blends of each pair using small amplitude oscillatory shear measurements fitted with the Palierne model. Multilayer coextrusion was used to fabricate bilayers and sheets with hundreds of layers for each polyolefin pair. Under shear deformation, disentangling of chains in the N − 1 interfaces led to a decrease in the overall shear viscosity, which is interpreted as an interfacial slip velocity and is in agreement with previous studies on multilayer films. Under extensional flows, the multilayers exhibited an increased transient extensional viscosity (tensile stress growth coefficient, η E , M +) and pronounced strain hardening, even when the constituent homopolymers exhibited no strain hardening behavior. A model based on a force summation was developed to predict this behavior with interfacial tension as a fitting parameter; the extracted interfacial tensions agreed reasonably well with those from the Palierne model. The “slip in shear” and “hardening in extension” behaviors highlight the role of interfacial polymer physics during rheological measurements and polymer processing.

Influence of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene liquid on rheology of fumed silica filled cis-polybutadiene rubber

Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) liquid is used to mediate the dispersity of fumed silica in cis-polybutadiene rubber (BR) to prepare nanocomposites. The introduction of HTPB promotes the dispersion of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic silicas (A200 and R974), which improves the reinforcement efficiency, delays the onset strain amplitude of nonlinear softening and enlarges the high-order harmonics in the nonlinearity region. Influence of HTPB on the linear and nonlinear rheological responses are well accounted for by data superposition on the basis of the rheological responses of the matrix. It is evidenced for the first time that the rheological nonlinearity may be enhanced in the case of improved filler dispersity. This is understandable taking the intrinsic nonlinearity of the matrix and the strain amplification effect induced by filler into consideration.

Rheology and Extrusion Foaming of Partially Crosslinked Thermoplastic Vulcanizates Silicone

Abstract This work focuses on the foaming behavior of thermoplastic vulcanized silicones (TPVs) in which partially crosslinked silicone nodules are dispersed. In these TPVs, silicone nodules dispersed in a low density polyethylene (LDPE) phase have an average size of about 1 μm. The crosslinking densities of the elastomer phase were selected according to their viscoelastic behavior. Surprisingly, linear and non-linear shear rheology appeared more sensitive to formulations than extensional rheology. Indeed, each formulation has an extensional rheological behavior similar to that of pure LDPE and meets the requirements for foaming applications in terms of elongation at break and melt strength. In accordance with non-linear shear rheology, the foaming behavior of these formulations has been correlated to extrusion foaming parameters that are known to control nucleation, i. e. pre-die pressure and die exit depressurization rate. With an appropriate crosslinking density of silicone nodules, the TPV foamability tends to the foamability of pure LDPE to reach a foam density of 0.54 g/cm3 with an average cell size of 140 ± 50 μm and a cell density of 3 × 105 cells/cm3. Since partially crosslinked silicone nodules cannot foam, it is assumed that they improve nucleation while allowing sufficient expansion of the LDPE phase.

Rheology of symmetric diblock copolymers

Using large-scale simulations with the graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerated Highly Optimized Object-oriented Many-particle Dynamics (HOOMD)-blue software we investigate the anisotropic, dynamic-mechanical properties of lamellae-forming diblock copolymer melts. Both, the shear-stress autocorrelation function in equilibrium as well as stress-controlled simulations of shear flow are considered. The latter are implemented in (HOOMD)-blue via reverse nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation (RNEMDS).We find that copolymer lamellae that are perpendicularly oriented to the shear flow have similar rheological properties than unstructured homopolymer melts. Copolymer lamellae with the metastable parallel and the unstable transverse orientation exhibit similar dynamic-mechanical behavior in the linear regime. Most notably, they are characterized by a high dissipation.(RNEMDS) enables the study of oscillatory shear flow as well as the investigation of nonlinear rheology. Our simulation results for a soft, coarse-grained model at very high frequencies indicate that the finite speed of stress propagation has to be accounted for in the quantitative analysis, and we devise an analytic prediction for the nonlinear velocity and spatially varying stress profiles as a function of the loss and storage moduli.

The unification of disparate rheological measures in oscillatory shearing

Oscillatory shearing is a popular method to understand transient nonlinear rheology. Various viscoelastic metrics have been used to analyze oscillatory rheology with different perspectives. We present a translation between various viscoelastic metrics for oscillatory rheology, using the framework of sequence of physical processes (SPPs) as a basis. The relation between the SPP metrics and Fourier-based metrics, such as Fourier sine and cosine coefficients, and large and minimum strain and rate metrics is provided. The meaning of the curvature in elastic and viscous Lissajous figures is explained with the sign of the SPP viscoelastic metrics. A low dimensional interpretation of the SPP framework is presented, featuring the center, size, and orientation of a deltoid in a transient Cole-Cole plot. Finally, we show how statistical information regarding the amount of change exhibited by the SPP metrics over a period of oscillation can be used to enhance the presentation and understanding of traditionally performed amplitude sweep experiments.

Darcy's Law for Yield Stress Fluids.

Predicting the flow of non-Newtonian fluids in a porous structure is still a challenging issue due to the interplay between the microscopic disorder and the nonlinear rheology. In this Letter, we study the case of a yield stress fluid in a two-dimensional structure. Thanks to an efficient optimization algorithm, we show that the system undergoes a continuous phase transition in the behavior of the flow, controlled by the applied pressure difference. In analogy with studies of plastic depinning of vortex lattices in high-T_{c} superconductors, we characterize the nonlinearity of the flow curve and relate it to the change in the geometry of the open channels. In particular, close to the transition, a universal scale-free distribution of the channel length is observed and explained theoretically via a mapping to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation.

Stress and strain evolution during single-layer folding under pure and simple shear

Folds in rocks are commonly used in geology for strain analysis. They contain information about rock rheology, and the kinematics and mechanics of deformation. The systematic analysis of the evolution of stress and strain during rock folding can provide key information on the mechanical behaviour of rocks and the efficiency of the folding process. In order to investigate the evolution of rock rheology during fold development, a series of two-dimensional simulations of single-layer folding are presented here. They are run using the finite element method BASIL, integrated within the software platform ELLE, to simulate linear and non-linear viscous deformation. The kinematics of deformation, the competence ratio between the folding layer and surrounding matrix as well as the stress exponent of the power-law viscous material are systematically varied. The results allow comparing the stages of folding under different deformation kinematic conditions. For all simulations the folding amplification process starts when the second invariant of the strain rate tensor in the competent layer deviates from the theoretical strain rate curve for a homogeneous material, which corresponds to a viscosity ratio between layer and matrix of m = 1. The relative time when the fold amplification starts is determined by the viscosity ratio between the competent layer and its surrounding matrix, the initial layer orientation with respect to the shear plane, the kinematics of deformation and the stress exponent. The folding process is more effective in cases with high viscosity ratio, non-linear rheology and layers initially oriented at a low angle with respect to the shear plane, because the second invariant of the strain rate tensor at the layer deviates earlier from the theoretical curve. The results also show differences depending on the boundary conditions, where (1) folding a competent layer requires less work in simple shear than in pure shear, and (2) the geometrical softening experienced by the competent layer due to fold development is followed by a hardening stage in pure shear and by a major softening phase in simple shear. The simulation results suggest that the decrease of stress of a competent layer without decreasing the mechanical strength has a direct influence on the behaviour of a lithospheric layer around the crust-mantle boundary, which may experience geometrical softening depending on the tectonic settings rather than material softening due metamorphic reactions or grain size reduction.

Instantaneous dimensionless numbers for transient nonlinear rheology

Two instantaneous dimensionless numbers that act as Deborah and Weissenberg numbers are introduced to diagnose flow conditions for transient nonlinear rheology. The utility of the new numbers is demonstrated on the steady alternating large amplitude oscillatory shear response of a colloidal Ludox glass, the soft glassy rheology model, and a viscoelastic wormlike micelle solution. Complex nonlinear trajectories through Pipkin space are observed, from which it is concluded that large amplitude oscillatory shear represents a range of distinct flow types. These results indicate that the observation time may change significantly during a period of oscillation. The complex trajectories observed for all three systems go from close to one axis to close to the other and back in quick succession. Rather than existing in the dominant central area that Pipkin originally marked as “?”, LAOS may simply be the way by which the axes of Pipkin space are dynamically linked.

Interfacial Rheology of Charged Anisotropic Cellulose Nanocrystals at the Air-Water Interface.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have received attention as a biological alternative for the stabilization of fluid interfaces, yielding biocompatible and sustainable emulsions, foams, and aerogels. The interfacial behavior of nanoparticles with shape anisotropy and surface charge like CNCs is still poorly understood, although it ultimately dictates the mechanical properties and stability of the macroscopic colloidal material. Here, we report on the linear and nonlinear interfacial dilatational and shear rheology of CNCs at the air-water interface. We observed the formation of viscoelastic CNC layers at comparably low surface coverage, which was attributed to the shape anisotropy of CNCs. Further, the interfacial elasticity of CNC layers can be modulated by salt-induced charge screening, thereby shifting the interplay of repulsive and attractive CNC interactions. CNC layers had a viscous character without salt, followed by increasing viscoelasticity upon salt addition. CNC layers display strain hardening during compression and show a yield stress followed by flow under shear. The observed interfacial behavior is discussed in the context ofCNC-stabilized foam and emulsion properties. We conclude that understanding the CNC interfacial behavior may help improve the performance of CNC-stabilized colloidal materials.

Stress relaxation in a dilute bacterial suspension: the active–passive transition

This paper follows a recent article of Nambiar et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 812, 2017, pp. 41–64) on the linear rheological response of a dilute bacterial suspension (e.g. E. coli) to impulsive starting and stopping of simple shear flow. Here, we analyse the time dependent nonlinear rheology for a pair of linear flows – simple shear (a canonical weak flow) and uniaxial extension (a canonical strong flow), again in response to impulsive initiation and cessation. The rheology is governed by the bacterium orientation distribution which satisfies a kinetic equation that includes rotation by the imposed flow, and relaxation to isotropy via rotary diffusion and tumbling. The relevant dimensionless parameters are the Péclet number $Pe\equiv \dot{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}$, which dictates the importance of flow-induced orientation anisotropy, and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}D_{r}$, which quantifies the relative importance of the two intrinsic orientation decorrelation mechanisms (tumbling and rotary diffusion). Here, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}$ is the mean run duration of a bacterium that exhibits a run-and-tumble dynamics, $D_{r}$ is the intrinsic rotary diffusivity of the bacterium and $\dot{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}$ is the characteristic magnitude of the imposed velocity gradient. The solution of the kinetic equation is obtained numerically using a spectral Galerkin method, that yields the rheological properties (the shear viscosity, the first and second normal stress differences for simple shear, and the extensional viscosity for uniaxial extension) over the entire range of $Pe$. For simple shear, we find that the stress relaxation predicted by our analysis at small $Pe$ is in good agreement with the experimental observations of Lopez et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 115, 2015, 028301). However, the analysis at large $Pe$ yields relaxations that are qualitatively different. Upon step initiation of shear, the rheological response in the experiments corresponds to a transition from a nearly isotropic suspension of active swimmers at small $Pe$, to an apparently (nearly) isotropic suspension of passive rods at large $Pe$. In contrast, the computations yield the expected transition to a nearly flow-aligned suspension of passive rigid rods at high $Pe$. We probe this active–passive transition systematically, complementing the numerical solution with analytical solutions obtained from perturbation expansions about appropriate base states. Our study suggests courses for future experimental and analytical studies that will help understand relaxation phenomena in active suspensions.

Heavy oil recovery by surface modified silica nanoparticle/HPAM nanofluids

Recent studies showed that the presence of dispersed nanoparticles (NPs) can increase the efficiency of polymer flooding. The network structure of polymer/NP hybrid dispersion has a significant impact on oil recovery. In this work, the surface of SiO2 NPs was modified by chemical grafting of octyltriethoxysilane (SiO2-OTES), oleic acid (SiO2-OAA) and stearic acid (SiO2-SAA) in an attempt to stimulate higher degree of interaction with partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were employed to characterize the modified silica NPs. In addition, ζ-potential, cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM), and linear and nonlinear rheology were used to evaluate the characteristics of the hybrid dispersion of HPAM/unmodified and modified SiO2 NPs. ζ-potential measurements showed that the addition of HPAM improved the colloidal stability of the modified and unmodified SiO2 NPs dispersed in deionized (DI) water. Moreover, the addition of HPAM reduced the size of the NP aggregates by effective steric repulsion. Small and large shear oscillatory deformation results showed that SiO2-OTES NPs improved the HPAM network significantly. Nevertheless, HPAM/NPs network formed with all the different SiO2 NPs severely decreased the intra-cycle shear-thickening behavior of the polymer. Lastly, the addition of 0.2 wt% SiO2-OTES NPs to the HPAM solution increased the ultimate oil recovery from 71.4% to 75.7% OOIP.

Connection between the anisotropic structure and nonlinear rheology of sheared colloidal suspensions investigated by Brownian dynamics simulations

Using Brownian dynamics simulations, we investigate the connection between the shear-induced microstructural distortion and nonlinear rheology of charged colloidal suspensions subject to steady shear. We demonstrate that their rate-dependent flow behavior is a consequence of localized elastic response, which we define as transient elastic zone (TEZ), generated by particle interaction. The body of colloids under shear behaves like an elastic solid in short distances but like a fluid at long distances. The short-lived, localized elastic region, i.e. transient elastic zone, plays a crucial role in determining the observed rheological behaviors. Our findings shed new light on understanding the nature of nonlinear rheology of soft matters with strong interactions.