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Cells offer numerous inspiring examples where proteins and membranes combine to form complex structures that are key to intracellular compartmentalization, cargo transport, and specialization of cell morphology. Despite this wealth of…
Anisotropic, submicrometer sized particles are versatile systems providing interesting features in creating ordering in 2-dimensional systems. Combining hard ellipsoids with a soft shell further enhances the opportunities to trigger and…
The structure and degree of order in soft matter and other materials is intimately connected to the nature of the interactions between the particles. One important research goal is to find suitable control mechanisms, to enhance or suppress…
We demonstrate that discontinuous shear thickening (DST) can occur even in moderately dense, inertial suspensions of hydrodynamically interacting, frictionless soft particles. Using the Lubrication-Friction Discrete Element Method, our…
Sessile hydrogel drops on rigid surfaces exhibit wetting/contact morphology intermediate between liquid drops and glass spheres. Using density functional theory, we reveal the contact forces acting between a hydrogel and a rigid glass…
Colloidal dispersions are prized as model systems to understand basic properties of materials, and are central to a wide range of industries from cosmetics to foods to agrichemicals. Among the key developments in using colloids to address…
Tangential interactions between particles play a central role in suspension rheology. We show theoretically that these interactions, often attributed to contact friction, are a direct consequence of fluid flows between rough particles in…
Many microfluidics devices, coating processes or diphasic flows involve the motion of a liquid meniscus on a wet wall. This motion induces a specific viscous force, that exhibits a non-linear dependency in the meniscus velocity. We propose…
When a rigid object approaches a soft material in a viscous fluid, hydrodynamic stresses arise in the lubricated contact region and deform the soft material. The elastic deformation modifies in turn the flow, hence generating a…
We present a detailed numerical study of multi-component colloidal gels interacting sterically and obtained by arrested phase separation. Under deformation, we found that the interplay between the different intertwined networks is key.…
The contact mechanics of individual, very small particles with other particles and walls is studied using a nanoindenter setup that allows normal and lateral displacement control and measurement of the respective forces. The sliding,…
Soft-granular media, such as dense emulsions, foams or tissues, exhibit either fluid- or solid-like properties depending on the applied external stresses. Whereas bulk rheology of such materials has been thoroughly investigated, the…
The dynamics of sheared inelastic-hard-sphere systems are studied using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and direct simulation Monte Carlo. In the molecular dynamics simulations Lees-Edwards boundary conditions are used to…
We investigate rearrangements of a single hairy particle at a liquid-liquid interface using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. We consider the particles with the same (symmetrical interactions) and different (asymmetrical…
The results of a numerical investigation of fluidized beds of spherical particles in a narrow vertical cylindrical pipe, with particular attention to the spontaneous settling along the wall, are reported. Starting from a steady fluidized…
Triangular lattice models for pattern formation by hard-core soft-shell particles at interfaces are introduced and studied in order to determine the effect of the shell thickness and structure. In model I, we consider particles with…
The ordering of particles in the drying process of a colloidal suspension is crucial in determining the properties of the resulting film. For example, microscopic inhomogeneities can lead to the formation of cracks and defects that can…
Simple models for spherical particles with a soft shell have been shown to self-assemble into numerous crystal phases and even quasicrystals. However, most of these models rely on a simple pairwise interaction, which is usually a valid…
We study the free energy landscapes of a pair of submicron spherical particles floating at the surface of a sessile droplet. The particles are subjected to radial external forces resulting in a deformation of the droplet shape relative to…
The physical gelation of colloids produces elastic structures that are commonly used to stabilize complex fluids in multiple industries. However, the ability to control the level of elastic modulus of these materials is limited by the…