Theory of nonlinear rheology and yielding of dense colloidal suspensions

Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Dec 9;89(24):248304. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.248304. Epub 2002 Nov 25.

Abstract

A first-principles approach to the nonlinear flow of dense suspensions is presented which captures shear thinning of colloidal fluids and dynamical yielding of colloidal glasses. The advection of density fluctuations plays a central role, suppressing the caging of particles and speeding up structural relaxation. A mode coupling approach is developed to explore these effects.