Theory for the rheology of dense non-Brownian suspensions: divergence of viscosities and $μ$-$J$ rheology

Abstract

A systematic microscopic theory for the rheology of dense non-Brownian suspensions characterized by the volume fraction $φ$ is developed. The theory successfully derives the critical behavior in the vicinity of the jamming point (volume fraction $φ_{J}$), for both the pressure $P$ and the shear stress $σ_{xy}$, i.e. $P \sim σ_{xy} \sim \dotγη_0 δφ^{-2}$, where $\dotγ$ is the shear rate, $η_0$ is the shear viscosity of the solvent, and $δφ= φ_J - φ> 0$ is the distance from the jamming point. It also successfully describes the behavior of the stress ratio $μ= σ_{xy}/P$ with respect to the viscous number $J=\dotγη_{0}/P$.