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arXiv · 2506.05262

Tuning Steady Shear Rheology through Active Dopants

Amir Shee·Ritwik Bandyopadhyay·Haicen Yue
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Abstract

We numerically investigate the steady shear rheology of mixtures of active and passive Brownian particles, with varying fractions of active components. We find that even a small fraction of active dopants triggers fluidization with comparable efficiency to fully active systems. A combined parameter, active energy, given by dopant fraction multiplied by propulsion speed squared controls the steady shear rheology and glass transition of the active-passive mixtures. These results together provide a quantitative strategy for fine-tuning the mechanical properties of a soft material with small amounts of active dopants.

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Amir Shee, Ritwik Bandyopadhyay, Haicen Yue. 2025-06-05. Tuning Steady Shear Rheology through Active Dopants. https://doi.org/10.1103/qvr9-rvw4

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