Light scattering studies of an electrorheological fluid
We report real-time, two-dimensional light scattering studies of the evolution of structure in an electrorheological fluid in the quiescent state and under shear. We find that when an electric field is applied to the quiescent fluid, particles chain along the electric field lines and cause strong light scattering lobes to appear at a finite scattering wavevector q orthogonal to the field lines. These lobes then brighten as they move to q=O, indicating the existence of an unstable concentration fluctuation that signifies the segregation of chains into columns. In fact, the observed power law growth kinetics of the characteristic length, as well as the form of the structure factor, are qualitatively similar to two-dimensional spinodal decomposition in a system with a conserved order parameter. When the sample is subjected to shear, we find that the scattering pattern approaches a steady state, with lobes that are rotated in the direction of fluid vorticity. The angle of rotation is found to increase as the cube root of the shear rate, in agreement with a theoretical prediction of the steady state structure of fragmenting particle chains.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 10181999
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-93-1844C; CONF-9306224-1; ON: DE93019419
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. international discussion meeting on relaxations in complex systems,Alicante (Spain),28 Jun - 8 Jul 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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