A general constitutive model for dense, fine-particle suspensions validated in many geometries

Abstract

Shear-thickening suspensions display peculiar phenomena, exhibiting solid-like and fluid-like behaviors at the same volume fraction. These materials have puzzled researchers since the 1930s and have seen renewed interest due to advances in computational and experimental methods as well as new infrastructural and military applications that might exploit these behaviors. We introduce a continuum model for shear-thickening suspensions, which correctly predicts realistic 3D flows including transient and inhomogeneous cases. Our approach builds the microscopic physics of particle repulsion into a framework for general fluid–grain mixtures, bridging to the fields of geomechanics and granular rheology. Using a material point method routine, we provide a robust model implementation and demonstrate the method’s broader utility for a variety of fluid-particle flow problems.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 27, 2019
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1908065116

Entities

People

  • Aaron S. Baumgarten
  • Ken Kamrin

Organizations

  • Army Research Office
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • National Science Foundation

Tags

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Economics