Rheology of visco-plastic suspensions

Abstract

This chapter deals with the rheological properties of viscoplastic suspensions. In Sect. 2, we discuss the theoretical behavior of suspensions of rigid particles in linear and nonlinear media. In Sect. 3, we present appropriate model systems, experimental setups and methods. The main experimental observations are presented in Sect. 4: we present the evolution of the elastic, plastic, and flow properties with the particle volume fraction, and we discuss the emergence of a shear-dependent microstructure. Finally, shear-induced migration and its link with normal stress differences are briefly discussed in Sect. 5.