System-spanning dynamically jammed region in response to impact of cornstarch and water suspensions

We experimentally characterize the impact response of concentrated suspensions of cornstarch and water. We hypothesize that the dynamically jammed region that propagates ahead of the impactor is responsible for the strong stress response to impact when it spans between solid boundaries. Using surface imaging and particle tracking at the boundary opposite the impactor, we observed that a visible structure and particle flow at the boundary occur with a delay after impact. We show the delay time is about the same time as the the strong stress response, confirming that the strong stress response results from deformation of the dynamically jammed structure once it spans between the impactor and a solid boundary. A characterization of this strong stress response is reported in a companion paper (arXiv:1407.0719). We also elaborate on the structure of the dynamically jammed region once it spans from the impactor to a solid boundary. We observed particle flow in the outer part of the dynamically jammed region at the bottom boundary, with a net transverse displacement of up to about 5\% of the impactor displacement, indicating shear at the boundary. Direct imaging of the surface of the outer part of the dynamically jammed region reveals a change in surface structure that appears the same as the result of dilation in other cornstarch suspensions. Imaging also reveals cracks, like a brittle solid. These observations suggest the dynamically jammed structure can temporarily support stress according to an effective modulus, like a soil or dense granular material, along a network of frictional contacts between the impactor and solid boundary.Comment: This was originally part of a separate paper (arXiv:1407.0719v3), before being split off as its own pape

Critical shear rate and torque stability condition for a particle resting on a surface in a fluid flow

We advance a quantitative description of the critical shear rate $\dot{\gamma_c}$ needed to dislodge a spherical particle resting on a surface with a model asperity in laminar and turbulent fluid flows. We have built a cone-plane experimental apparatus which enables measurement of $\dot{\gamma_c}$ over a wide range of particle Reynolds number $Re_p$ from $10^{-3}$ to $1.5 \times 10^3$. The condition to dislodge the particle is found to be consistent with the torque balance condition, which { yields a lower $\dot{\gamma_c}$ compared with} force balance because of the torque component due to drag about the particle center. The data for $Re_p < 0.5$ is in good agreement with analytical calculations of the drag and lift coefficients in the $Re_p \rightarrow 0$ limit. For higher $Re_p$, where analytical results are unavailable, the hydrodynamic coefficients are found to approach a constant for $Re_p > 1000$. We show that a linear combination of the hydrodynamic coefficients found in the viscous and inertial limits can describe the observed $\dot{\gamma_c}$ as a function of the particle and fluid properties.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Fluid Mechanic