Age-dependent modes of extensional necking instability in soft glassy materials

Necking and failure of a particulate gel strand: signatures of yielding on different length scales

"Sticky" spheres with a short-ranged attraction are a basic model of a wide range of materials from the atomic to the granular length scale. Among the complex phenomena exhibited by sticky spheres is the formation of far-from-equilibrium dynamically arrested networks which comprise "strands" of densely packed particles. The aging and failure of such gels under load is a remarkably challenging problem, given the simplicity of the model, as it involves multiple length- and time-scales, making a single approach ineffective. Here we tackle this challenge by addressing the failure of a single strand with a combination of methods. We study the mechanical response of a single strand of a model gel-former to deformation, both numerically and analytically. Under elongation, the strand breaks by a necking instability. We analyse this behaviour at three different length scales: a rheological continuum model of the whole strand; a microscopic analysis of the particle structure and dynamics; and the local stress tensor. Combining these different approaches gives a coherent picture of the necking and failure. The strand has an amorphous local structure and has large residual stresses from its initialisation. We find that neck formation is associated with increased plastic flow, a reduction in the stability of the local structure, and a reduction in the residual stresses; this indicates that the system loses its solid character and starts to behave more like a viscous fluid. These results will inform the development of more detailed models that incorporate the heterogeneous network structure of particulate gels.

Studying the aging of Laponite suspensions using extensional rheology

The effect of aging on the break-up dynamics of Laponite suspensions was studied in an extensional geometry. It was found that samples of increased age undergo stronger necking at the midpoint. The thinning of samples, driven purely by motion of the plates, was compared with standard shear rheology to understand how the dynamics are related to the sample properties. The Laponite suspensions exhibit a growing stress overshoot with monotonically decreasing yield strain as they age. However, it is shown that the thinning curves in extension are only a good indicator of the sample's static yield stress, being insensitive to its yield strain. These measurements suggest that following an initial linear visco-elastic regime, samples accumulate significant plastic deformations prior to the complete yielding of the sample. The implications of this for the importance of assessing changes to the ductile-brittle nature of samples are also discussed.

Fluid dynamic induced break-up during volcanic eruptions

Determining whether magma fragments during eruption remains a seminal challenge in volcanology. There is a robust paradigm for fragmentation of high viscosity, silicic magmas, however little is known about the fragmentation behaviour of lower viscosity systems—the most abundant form of volcanism on Earth and on other planetary bodies and satellites. Here we provide a quantitative model, based on experiments, for the non-brittle, fluid dynamic induced fragmentation of low viscosity melts. We define the conditions under which extensional thinning or liquid break-up can be expected. We show that break-up, both in our experiments and natural eruptions, occurs by both viscous and capillary instabilities operating on contrasting timescales. These timescales are used to produce a universal break-up criterion valid for low viscosity melts such as basalt, kimberlite and carbonatite. Lastly, we relate these break-up instabilities to changes in eruptive behaviour, the associated natural hazard and ultimately the deposits formed.

Determining if a volcanic eruption will behave effusively or explosively is crucial for predicting the potential hazard type and for planning effective mitigation. Here, the authors present a universal, fluid dynamic induced, break-up criterion for low viscosity melts.

Polymer liquids fracture like solids

While fracture in brittle solids has been studied for centuries until today, there are few studies on fracture in polymer liquids. Recent developments in experimental techniques, especially the combination of controlled filament stretching rheometry and high speed imaging, have opened new windows into the detailed study of fracture processes for polymer liquids. High speed imaging shows that polymer liquids fracture like solids with initiation and propagation of an edge fracture. However, remarkable features such as highly reproducible critical stress, independent appearance of multiple fractures, and trumpet crack profiles, reveal mechanisms which are significantly different from solids.

Multiple Cracks Propagate Simultaneously in Polymer Liquids in Tension

Understanding the mechanism of fracture is essential for material and process design. While the initiation of fracture in brittle solids is generally associated with the preexistence of material imperfections, the mechanism for initiation of fracture in viscoelastic fluids, e.g., polymer melts and solutions, remains an open question. We use high speed imaging to visualize crack propagation in entangled polymer liquid filaments under tension. The images reveal the simultaneous propagation of multiple cracks. The critical stress and strain for the onset of crack propagation are found to be highly reproducible functions of the stretch rate, while the position of initiation is completely random. The reproducibility of conditions for fracture points to a mechanism for crack initiation that depends on the dynamic state of the material alone, while the crack profiles reveal the mechanism of energy dissipation during crack propagation.