Transient mechanics of foams and emulsions

Systems far from equilibrium have numerous practical uses, but challenge our understanding of their underlying physics. Materials like foams, emulsions, suspensions and granular matter can show liquidlike properties or get trapped in a solidlike jammed state. The phase transition between the flowing and static state is often referred to as the ...

Jamming and irreversibility

We investigate irreversibility in soft frictionless disk packings on approach to the unjamming transition. Using simulations of shear reversal tests, we study the relationship between plastic work and irreversible rearrangements of the contact network. Infinitesimal strains are reversible, while any finite strain generates plastic work and...

Stress relaxation in viscous soft spheres

We report the results of molecular dynamics simulations of stress relaxation tests in athermal viscous soft sphere packings close to their unjamming transition. By systematically and simultaneously varying both the amplitude of the applied strain step and the pressure of the initial condition, we access both linear and nonlinear response...

Beyond linear elasticity: Jammed solids at finite shear strain and rate

The shear response of soft solids can be modeled with linear elasticity, provided the forcing is slow and weak. Both of these approximations must break down when the material loses rigidity, such as in foams and emulsions at their (un)jamming point-suggesting that the window of linear elastic response near jamming is exceedingly narrow. Yet...