From shear thickening to shear-induced jamming

Abstract

We show that applying shear to a suspension may lead to either thickening or permanent jamming, depending on the volume fraction of the considered suspension. Interpreting measurements of conductivity under shear, we invoke a dynamical structural transition to explain the origin of shear thickening in suspensions of non-Brownian particles. We finally suggest that shear thickening and shear-induced jamming be regarded as two consequences of this dynamical structural transition.