Nonlinear rheology of Laponite suspensions under an external drive
Abstract
We investigate the nonlinear rheological behavior of colloidal suspensions of Laponite, a synthetic clay, driven by a steady and homogeneous shear strain. We show that the external drive leads to a drastic slowing down of the aging dynamics or even, in some cases, in the rejuvenation of the system. Under shear, after a surprisingly long time, the spontaneous aging process observed at rest is suppressed. The system then reaches a non-equilibrium stationary state, characterised by a complex viscosity depending on the applied shear rate. In addition, the glass exhibits a non-Newtonian shear-thinning behavior. These rheological behaviors confirm recent numerical and theoretical predictions.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0302606,
title = {Nonlinear rheology of Laponite suspensions under an external drive},
author = {Bérengère Abou and Daniel Bonn and Jacques Meunier},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0302606},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
17 pages, Latex, 6 figures, figures included in the body of the text, to appear in Journal of Rheology