Dense particulate suspensions exhibit a dramatic increase in average viscosity above a critical, material-dependent shear stress. This thickening changes from continuous to discontinuous as the concentration is increased. Using direct measurements of spatially resolved surface stresses in the continuous thickening regime, we report the existence of clearly defined dynamic localized regions of substantially increased stress that appear intermittently at stresses above the critical stress. With increasing applied stress, these regions occupy an increasing fraction of the system, and the increase accounts quantitatively for the observed shear thickening. The regions represent high-viscosity fluid phases, with a size determined by the distance between the shearing surfaces and a viscosity that is nearly independent of shear rate but that increases rapidly with concentration. Thus, we find that continuous shear thickening arises from increasingly frequent localized discontinuous transitions between distinct fluid phases with widely differing viscosities.

We report direct measurements of spatially resolved surface stresses over the entire surface of a dense suspension during discontinuous shear thickening (DST) using Boundary Stress Microscopy (BSM) in a parallel-plate rheometer. We find that large fluctuations in the bulk rheological response at the onset of DST are the result of localized transitions to a state with very high stress, consistent with a fully jammed solid that makes direct contact with the shearing boundaries. That jammed solid like phase (SLP) is rapidly fractured, producing two separate SLPs that propagate in opposite directions. By comparing the speed of propagation of the SLPs with the motion of the confining plates, we deduce that one remains in contact with the bottom boundary, and another remains in contact with the top. These regions grow, bifurcate, and eventually interact and decay in a complex manner that depends on the measurement conditions (constant shear rate vs constant stress). In constant applied stress mode, BSM directly reveals dramatic stress fluctuations that are completely missed in standard bulk rheology.

Lamins are intermediate filament proteins of type V constituting a nuclear lamina or filamentous meshwork which lines the nucleoplasmic side of the inner nuclear membrane. This protein mesh provides a supporting scaffold for the nuclear envelope and tethers interphase chromosome to the nuclear periphery. Mutations of mainly A-type lamins are found to be causative for at least 11 human diseases collectively termed as laminopathies majority of which are characterised by aberrant nuclei with altered structural rigidity, deformability and poor mechanotransduction behaviour. But the investigation of viscoelastic behavior of lamin A continues to elude the field. In order to address this problem, we hereby present the very first report on viscoelastic properties of wild type human lamin A and some of its mutants linked with Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) using quantitative rheological measurements. We observed a dramatic strain-softening effect on lamin A network as an outcome of the strain amplitude sweep measurements which could arise from the large compliance of the quasi-cross-links in the network or that of the lamin A rods. In addition, the drastic stiffening of the differential elastic moduli on superposition of rotational and oscillatory shear stress reflect the increase in the stiffness of the laterally associated lamin A rods. These findings present a preliminary insight into distinct biomechanical properties of wild type lamin A protein and its mutants which in turn revealed interesting differences.

We demonstrate a unique shear-induced crystallization phenomenon above the equilibrium freezing temperature ðT o K Þ in weakly swollen isotropic ðL i Þ and lamellar ðL α Þ mesophases with bilayers formed in a cationic-anionic mixed surfactant system. Synchrotron rheological X-ray diffraction study reveals the crystallization transition to be reversible under shear (i.e., on stopping the shear, the nonequilibrium crystalline phase L c melts back to the equilibrium mesophase). This is different from the shear-driven crystallization below T o K , which is irreversible. Rheological optical observations show that the growth of the crystalline phase occurs through a preordering of the L i phase to an L α phase induced by shear flow, before the nucleation of the L c phase. Shear diagram of the L i phase constructed in the parameter space of shear rate ð_ γÞ vs. temperature exhibits L i → L c and L i → L α transitions above the equilibrium crystallization temperature ðT o K Þ, in addition to the irreversible shear-driven nucleation of L c in the L i phase below T o K . In addition to revealing a unique class of nonequilibrium phase transition, the present study urges a unique approach toward understanding shear-induced phenomena in concentrated mesophases of mixed amphiphilic systems.shear-induced phase separation | strongly binding counterions | coagels S hear is known to assist crystallization below the equilibrium freezing temperature in complex fluids like colloidal glasses (1, 2), dense granular suspensions (3), polymer melts (4, 5), micellar solutions of block copolymers (6), and multicomponent surfactant systems (7,8). Shear-driven crystallization is equally relevant for simple fluids like bulk metallic glasses (9), molecular liquids (10), and atomic systems (11). The general understanding is that shear lowers the energy barrier for nucleation and accelerates the growth of a stable crystalline phase from a metastable, amorphous/ isotropic solution at Peclet number Pe = σa 3 kBT > 1, where σ is the shear stress, a is the characteristic length scale, and k B T is the thermal energy (12). The crystalline phase primarily induced by the effect of flow on the internal structure and ordering of the constituents does not revert to the starting fluid state when the imposed shear is removed, indicating that the phenomenon is not a dynamic phase transition. In the present study, we report a unique phenomenon, where under steady shear, crystallization occurs above the equilibrium crystallization temperature ðT o K Þ in an isotropic mesophase ðL i Þ consisting of bilayers formed in a lyotropic surfactant system. Notably, above T o K , when the imposed shear is removed, the crystalline phase melts back to the starting L i phase.The studies were carried out in a cationic-anionic mixed surfactant system formed by SDS and the strong binding counter-ion paratoluene hydrochloride (PTHC) in water. At equilibrium, the organic counter-ion PTHC has the tendency to remain at the micelle-water interface, decreasing the spontaneous curvat...

Increased shear thinning arising due to strong attractive interactions between colloidal particles is thought to obscure shear thickening. Here, we demonstrate how moderate attractions, induced by adding a nonadsorbing polymer, can instead enhance shear thickening. We measure the rheology of colloidal suspensions at a constant particle volume fraction of ϕ ¼ 0.40 with dilute to weakly semidilute concentrations of three polyacrylamide depletants of different molecular weights. Suspensions containing large polymer exhibit increased shear thickening and positive first normal stress differences at high shear stress, and increased heterogeneous fluctuations in the boundary stress. These results are consistent with a friction-based model for shear thickening, suggesting that the presence of large, extended polymers induces the formation of near-spanning networks of interparticle contacts.