The featured article ‘Break-up of a falling drop containing dispersed particles’ (Nitsche and Batchelor, J. Fluid Mech., 1997, vol. 340, pp. 161–175) is G. K. Batchelor's last published paper with his former postdoctoral associate J. M. Nitsche. The objective of the study was to investigate the randomness of the velocities of interacting rigid particles falling under gravity through a viscous fluid at a small Reynolds number and its consequence for the breakup of a falling cloud of particles. The study focused on a quintessential problem of the collective dynamics of interacting particles and has been an inspiration for subsequent work.

Shear-induced self-diffusion is a fundamental mode of transport in granular flows. Yet its critical behaviour and dependence on the particle solid fraction are still unclear. Here, we rationalize these dependencies by performing two-dimensional pressure-imposed numerical simulations of dense non-Brownian frictional suspensions. Our results, combined with existing numerical data on inertial granular flows, show that the shear-induced diffusion coefficients of both systems can be captured by a single function of the distance to jamming. They further show that the grain diffusive behaviour is underpinned by a specific random walk process, having a constant elementary step length driven at a frequency that increases with the solid fraction. The proposed scaling laws pave the way for a better understanding of mixing processes in granular media.

The transient shear-induced particle migration of frictional non-Brownian suspensions is studied using particle-resolved simulations. The numerical method – the fictitious domain method – is well suited to heterogeneous flows thanks to a frame-invariant formulation of the subgrid (lubrication) corrections that does not involve the ambient flow (Orsi et al., J. Comput. Phys., vol. 474, 2023, 111823). The paper aims to give an accurate quantitative picture of the mass and momentum balance during the flow. The various assumptions and local constitutive laws that together form the suspension balance model (SBM) are thoroughly examined. To this purpose, the various quantities of interest are locally averaged in space and time, and their profile across the channel is extensively studied, with specific attention to the time evolution of the different contributions, either hydrodynamic in nature or from contact interactions, to the shear and normal stresses. The latter, together with the velocity gradient in the wall-normal direction and the volume fraction profile, yield the local constitutive laws, which are compared with their counterpart obtained in homogeneous shear flow. A fair agreement is observed except in a layering area at the boundaries and at the very centre of the channel. In addition, the main assumption of the SBM, i.e. the local relation between the hydrodynamic force on the particles and the particle flux, is meticulously investigated. The hydrodynamic force is found to be mainly a drag, except in the lower range of the probed volume fractions, where a non-drag contribution is observed.

The spreading of large viscous drops of density-matched suspensions of non-Brownian spheres on a smooth solid surface is investigated experimentally at the global drop scale. The focus is on dense suspensions with a solid volume fraction equal to or greater than $40\,\%$, and for drops larger than the capillary length, i.e. for which the spreading is governed by the balance of gravitational and viscous forces. Our findings indicate that all liquids exhibit a power-law behaviour typical of gravity-driven dynamics, albeit with an effective suspension viscosity that is smaller than the bulk value. When the height of the drop is of the order of the particle size, the power law breaks down as the particles freeze while the contact line continues to advance.

Many natural and industrial processes involve the flow of fluids made of solid particles suspended in non-Newtonian liquid matrices, which are challenging to control due to the fluid's nonlinear rheology. In the present work, a Taylor–Couette canonical system is used to investigate the flow of dilute to semi-dilute suspensions of neutrally buoyant spherical particles in highly elastic base polymer solutions. Friction measurement synchronized with direct flow visualization are combined to characterize the critical conditions for the onset of elasto-inertial instabilities, expected here as a direct transition to elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT). Adding a low particle volume fraction (${\leq }2\,\%$, dilute regime) does not affect the nature of the primary transition and reduces the critical Weissenberg number for the onset of EIT, despite a significant decrease in the apparent fluid elasticity. However, for particle volume fractions ${\geq }6\,\%$ (semi-dilute regime), EIT is no longer observed in the explored Reynolds range, suggesting an apparent relaminarization with yet not further decrease in fluid elasticity. Instead, a new regime, termed here elasto-inertial dissipative (EID), was uncovered. It originates from particle–particle interactions altering particle–polymer interactions and occurring under elasto-inertial conditions comparable to those of EIT. Increasing particle volume fraction in the semi-dilute regime and, in so, the particle contribution to the overall viscosity, delays the onset of EID similarly to what was observed previously for EIT in lower elasticity fluids. After this onset, a decrease in the pseudo-Nusselt number observed with increasing inertia and particle-to-polymer concentration ratio confirms a particle-induced alteration of energy transfer in the flow.

When a partially miscible binary mixture is quenched below its critical temperature, it transitions from its single-phase to a two-phase region, undergoing phase separation. The processes of formation and coalescence of droplets are driven by diffusive and convective phenomena, taking place isotropically in the system. The application of an external force field, which exerts a different contribution on the two species, breaks the symmetry of phase separation, leading to the segregation of two equilibrated phases separated by a single interface. This study investigates the dynamics of phase segregation under an external force. The effects of various force magnitudes, captured by the Bond number, in both high- and low-viscosity mixtures, distinguished by different fluidity numbers, are quantified via numerical simulations by using the phase field model. The intricate dynamics of formation, floating and coalescence of droplets towards complete segregation are described along with the quantification of the segregation time, revealing different patterns for high and low Bond numbers. Results show that in none of the cases, formation and floating can be regarded as strictly serial processes. A universal scaling between segregation time, Bond number, fluidity number and domain size is not possible, with a power-law dependence emerging only under the diffusion-dominated regime.

Laboratory experiments and particle-resolved simulations are employed to investigate the settling dynamics of a pair of rigidly connected spherical particles of unequal size. They yield a detailed picture of the transient evolution and the terminal values of the aggregate's orientation angle and its settling and drift velocities as functions of the aspect ratio and the Galileo number $Ga$, which denotes the ratio of buoyancy and viscous forces acting on the aggregate. At low to moderate values of $Ga$, the aggregate's orientation and velocity converge to their terminal values monotonically, whereas for higher $Ga$-values the aggregate tends to undergo a more complex motion. If the aggregate assumes an asymmetric terminal orientation, it displays a non-zero terminal drift velocity. For diameter ratios much larger than one and small $Ga$, the terminal orientation of the aggregate becomes approximately vertical, whereas when $Ga$ is sufficiently large for flow separation to occur, the aggregate orients itself such that the smaller sphere is located at the separation line. Empirical scaling laws are obtained for the terminal settling velocity and orientation angle as functions of the aspect ratio and $Ga$ for diameter ratios from 1 to 4 and particle-to-fluid density ratios from 1.3 to 5. An analysis of the accompanying flow field shows the formation of vortical structures exhibiting complex topologies in the aggregate's wake, and indicates the formation of a horizontal pressure gradient across the larger sphere, which represents the main reason for the emergence of the drift velocity.

The first experimental results on pattern transitions in the co-rotation regime (i.e. the rotation ratio $\varOmega = \omega _o/\omega _i > 0$, where $\omega _i$ and $\omega _o$ are the angular speeds of the inner and outer cylinders, respectively) of the Taylor–Couette flow (TCF) are reported for a neutrally buoyant suspension of non-colloidal particles, up to a particle volume fraction of $\phi = 0.3$. While the stationary Taylor vortex flow (TVF) is the primary bifurcating state in dilute suspensions ($\phi \leq ~0.05$), the non-axisymmetric oscillatory states, such as the spiral vortex flow (SVF) and the ribbon (RIB), appear as primary bifurcations with increasing particle loading, with an overall de-stabilization of the primary bifurcating states (TVF/SVF/RIB) being found with increasing $\phi$ for all $\varOmega \geq ~0$. At small co-rotations ($\varOmega \sim 0$), the particles play the dual role of stabilization ($\phi < 0.1$) and destabilization ($\phi \geq ~0.1$) on the secondary/tertiary oscillatory states. The distinctive features of the ‘particle-induced’ spiral vortices are identified and contrasted with those of the ‘fluid-induced’ spirals that operate in the counter-rotation regime.

Many biological fluids are composed of suspended polymers immersed in a viscous fluid. A prime example is mucus, where the polymers are also known to form a network. While the presence of this microstructure is linked with an overall non-Newtonian response of the fluid, swimming cells and microorganisms similar in size to the network pores and polymer filaments instead experience the heterogeneous nature of the environment, interacting directly with the polymers as obstacles as they swim. To characterise and understand locomotion in these heterogeneous environments, we simulate the motion of an undulatory swimmer through three-dimensional suspensions and networks of elastic filaments, exploring the effects of filament and link compliance and filament concentration up to 20 % volume fraction. For compliant environments, the swimming speed increases with filament concentration to values approximately 10 % higher than in a viscous fluid. In stiffer environments, a non-monotonic dependence is observed, with an initial increase in speed to values 5 % greater than in a viscous fluid, followed by a dramatic reduction to speeds just a fraction of its value in a viscous fluid. Velocity fluctuations are also more pronounced in stiffer environments. We demonstrate that speed enhancements are linked to hydrodynamic interactions with the microstructure, while reductions are due to the filaments restricting the amplitude of the swimmer's propulsive wave. Unlike previous studies where interactions with obstacles allowed for significant enhancements in swimming speeds, the modest enhancements seen here are more comparable to those given by models where the environment is treated as a continuous viscoelastic fluid.

The clustering of debris floating on liquid interfaces such as water surfaces is a complex phenomenon that finds its applications in numerous examples from industrial processing and environmental systems. The recent paper by Shin & Coletti (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 984, 2024, R7) presents an experimental campaign investigating the three effects of turbulence, particle interactions and interfacial effects, to elucidate how the three force scales drag, capillary forces and lubrication give rise to three distinct regimes of clustering in dense suspensions. The study, hence, provides a useful systematic to categorize the clustering mechanisms. As an important finding, it is shown that, depending on volume fraction and non-dimensional turbulent shear, particles either tend to cluster into aggregate sizes larger than the Kolmogorov scale or can break into pieces that are as small as the primary particle size.

The orientational dynamics of a spherical magnetic particle in linear shear flow subjected to an oscillating magnetic field in the flow plane is analysed in the viscous limit. The shear is in the $X$–$Y$ plane, the magnetic field is in the $X$ direction and the vorticity is perpendicular to the flow in the $Z$ direction. The relevant dimensionless groups are $\omega ^\ast$, the ratio of the frequency of the magnetic field and the strain rate, and $\varSigma$, the ratio of the magnetic and hydrodynamic torques. As $\varSigma$ is decreased, there is a transition from in-plane rotation, where the rotation is in the flow ($X$–$Y$) plane, to out-of-plane rotation, where the orientation vector is not necessarily in the $X$–$Y$ plane and the dynamics depends on the initial orientation. The particle rotation is phase-locked for in-plane rotation with discrete odd rotation number (number of rotations in one period of magnetic field oscillation), while the orbits are quasi-periodic with non-integer rotation number for out-of-plane rotation. For $\varSigma \gg 1$, regions of odd rotation number $n_o$ are bound by the lines $8 (n_o-1) \varSigma \omega ^\ast = 1$ and $8 (n_o+1) \varSigma \omega ^\ast = 1$, and there are discontinuous changes in the rotation number and mean and root-mean-square torque at these lines. For $\varSigma \ll 1$, the domains of in-plane rotation of finite width in the $\omega ^\ast$–$\varSigma$ plane extend into downward cusps at $\omega ^\ast = {1}/{2 n_o}$. The orbits are quasi-periodic between these domains, where the rotation is out of plane.

Particulate flows at moderate particle Reynolds numbers are important in critical engineering and geological applications. This experimental study explores neutrally buoyant suspensions in an outer-rotating coaxial rheometer for solid fractions, $\phi$, from 0.1 to 0.5, and particle Reynolds number, $Re$, from 0.5 to 800, covering laminar, transitional and turbulent regimes; $Re$ is defined in terms of the square of the particle diameter and the shear rate. For $0.1 < \phi < 0.4$ and $0.5 < Re <10$, the direct torque measurements normalised by the laminar flow torque, $M/M_{lam}$, are independent of $Re$, but depend on $\phi$. For the same range of $\phi$ and for $10< Re<100$, the normalised torques depend on both $\phi$ and $Re$, and show an increasing dependence on $Re$. As $Re$ increases, the flow transitions to turbulence. Small particles delay the turbulent transition for $\phi \leqslant 0.3$, while large particles augment the transition. A modified Reynolds number, $Re^\prime$, that depends linearly on the particle diameter and the maximum velocity, $U_{o}$, is introduced for both laminar and turbulent flows and shows a better correlation of the results as compared with $Re$. For $\phi = 50\,\%$, the normalised torque minus the torque at zero rotational speed is nearly independent of $Re^\prime$. Rheological models based on $Re^\prime$ and the Krieger–Dougherty relative viscosity are proposed in the laminar regime for $10< Re^\prime <500$; in the turbulent regime, a correlation is proposed in terms of $Re^\prime$ and $\phi$ for $1000< Re^\prime < 6000$.

We develop a mean-field model to examine the stability of a ‘quasi-2-D suspension’ of elongated particles embedded within a viscous membrane. This geometry represents several biological and synthetic settings, and we reveal mechanisms by which the anisotropic mobility of particles interacts with long-ranged viscous membrane hydrodynamics. We first show that a system of slender rod-like particles driven by a constant force is unstable to perturbations in concentration – much like sedimentation in analogous 3-D suspensions – so long as membrane viscous stresses dominate. However, increasing the contribution of viscous stresses from the surrounding 3-D fluid(s) suppresses such an instability. We then tie this result to the hydrodynamic disturbances generated by each particle in the plane of the membrane and show that enhancing subphase viscous contributions generates extensional fields that orient neighbouring particles in a manner that draws them apart. The balance of flux of particles aggregating versus separating then leads to a wave number selection in the mean-field model.

We have performed numerical simulations to investigate the phenomenon of axial pattern formation exhibited by a non-neutrally buoyant concentrated suspension. Continuum modelling of the concentrated suspension is done using the suspension balance model to identify the underlying mechanism of the phenomenon. We demonstrate that axial concentration variations become amplified to axial bands owing to the influence of the second normal stress difference ($N_2$), and the first normal difference ($N_1$) accentuates the effect of $N_2$. We demonstrate that the end walls of the rotating cylinder are necessary to prevent the smearing out of axial bands but are not a direct cause of the phenomenon.

Dense suspensions of solid particles in viscous liquid are ubiquitous in both industry and nature, and there is a clear need for efficient numerical routines to simulate their rheology and microstructure. Particles of micron size present a particular challenge: at low shear rates, colloidal interactions control their dynamics while at high rates, granular-like contacts dominate. While there are established particle-based simulation schemes for large-scale non-Brownian suspensions using only pairwise lubrication and contact forces, common schemes for colloidal suspensions generally are more computationally costly and thus restricted to relatively small system sizes. Here, we present a minimal particle-based numerical model for dense colloidal suspensions that incorporates Brownian forces in pairwise form alongside contact and lubrication forces. We show that this scheme reproduces key features of dense suspension rheology near the colloidal-to-granular transition, including both shear thinning due to entropic forces at low rates and shear thickening at high rates due to contact formation. This scheme is implemented in LAMMPS, a widely used open source code for parallelised particle-based simulations, with a runtime that scales linearly with the number of particles, making it amenable for large-scale simulations.

A dense particle suspension under shear may lose its uniform state to large local density and stress fluctuations, which challenge the mean-field description of the system. Here, we explore the novel dynamics of a non-Brownian suspension under orbital oscillations, where localized density waves along the flow direction appear beyond an excitation frequency threshold and self-organize into a hexagonal pattern across the system. The spontaneous occurrence of the inhomogeneity pattern arises from a coupling between particle advection and the shear-thickening nature of the suspension. Through linear stability analysis, we show that they overcome the stabilizing effects of particle pressure at sufficient particle volume fraction and oscillation frequency. In addition, the long-standing density waves degenerate into random fluctuations when replacing the free surface with rigid confinement. It indicates that the shear-thickened state is intrinsically heterogeneous, and the boundary conditions are crucial for developing local disturbance.

The phenomenon of the ‘coil-stretch’ (C-S) transition, wherein a long-chain polymer initially in a coiled state undergoes a sudden configuration change to become fully stretched under steady elongational flows, has been widely recognized. This transition can display intricate hysteresis behaviours under specific critical conditions, giving rise to unique rheological characteristics in dilute polymer solutions. Historically, microscopic stochastic models and Brownian dynamics simulations have shed light on the underlying mechanisms of the transition by uncovering bistable configurations of polymer chains. Following the initial work by Cerf (J. Chem. Phys., vol. 20, 1952, pp. 395–402), we introduce a continuum model in this study to investigate the C-S transition in a constant uniaxial elongational flow. Our approach involves approximating the unfolding process of the polymer chain as an axisymmetric deformation of an elastic particle. We make the assumption that the particle possesses uniform material properties, which can be represented by a nonlinear, strain-hardening constitutive equation to replicate the finite extensibility of the polymer chain. Subsequently, we analytically solve for the steady-state deformation using a polarization method. By employing this reduced model, we effectively capture the C-S transition and establish its specific correlations with material and geometric properties. The hysteresis phenomena can be comprehended through a force-balance analysis, which involves comparing the externally applied viscous forces with the intrinsic elastic responsive forces. We demonstrate that our model, while simple, unveils rich elastohydrodynamics of the C-S transition.

The nexus between turbulence, particle interaction and interfacial tension is virtually unexplored, despite being highly relevant to a wealth of industrial and environmental settings. Here we investigate it by conducting experiments on non-Brownian spherical particles at the interface of turbulent liquid layers. The latter are electromagnetically stirred in a quasi-two-dimensional apparatus, while the particles are individually tracked. By systematically varying interfacial conditions, turbulence intensity, particle size and concentration from dilute to dense, we map the system behaviour over a wide parameter space. We reveal how the dynamics is governed by the balance of drag, capillarity and lubrication. Based on their scaling, we propose a phase diagram comprising three distinct regimes, characterized by widely different levels of clustering and fluctuating energy of the particles. This is quantitatively confirmed by the experimental results.

The viscoelasticity of a dilute bubble suspension is theoretically derived from the constitutive equation originally for a dilute emulsion proposed by Frankel & Acrivos (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 44, issue 1, 1970, pp. 65–78). Non-dimensionalization of the original tensor equation indicates that the viscoelasticity is systematized for a given void fraction by the capillary number $Ca$ and dynamic capillary number $Cd$, representing the bubble deformability and unsteadiness of bubble deformation. Comprehensive evaluation of the viscoelasticity according to the volume fraction, $Ca$ and $Cd$ reveals that whether the viscosity increases or decreases depends on whether $Ca$ or $Cd$ exceeds a common critical value. In addition, it is indicated that the bubble suspension has the most prominent viscoelasticity when the time scale of the shear deformation is the same as the relaxation time of the suspended bubble and when the bubbles keep a spherical shape, that is, $Ca \ll 1$ and $Cd = 1$. The applicability of this theory in flow prediction was examined in a Taylor–Couette system, and experimentally good agreement was confirmed.

In order to understand the influence of salt concentration and temperature on the behavior and properties of clays used in drilling muds, we studied montmorillonite supensions (4 g clay/100 g solution) in 0.1, 0.5 and 1 M NaCl and KCl solutions. A fraction of each sample was heated to 200 °C in a closed vessel for 7 d, then cooled at room temperature (RT, 25 °C). Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) spectra were recorded, for all the samples, at RT. The structure of the clay particles was determined by comparing the experimental intensity with the theoretical intensity computed from a model that took into account the number of layers per particle, the hydration state of the layers (0, l, 2, 3 or 4 water layers) and the order in the succession of these states. With this set of parameters, we can compute the mean statistical parameters M¯ (mean number of layers per particle), d¯ (mean interlayer distance) and δ¯2/d¯2 (parameter describing the disorder of the distribution of interlayer distances). The evolution of these parameters shows that:

1. 1) At low concentration (0.1 M NaCl or KCl), the samples do not consist of particles but of isolated layers (M = 1). The suspensions form gel-like structures. The difference between Na and K suspensions, or between heated and nonheated samples, is unnoticeable at the studied scale (5–500 Å).

2. 2) An increase in salt concentration (from 0.1 to 0.5 M) brings the sample in a granular state: we notice the appearance of particles at 0.5 M (M¯ ≥ 25). Differences appear between NaCl and KCl suspensions, and the temperature effect becomes visible. Thus, we noticed that in NaCl suspensions, particles are composed of hydrated layers (1, 2, 3 or 4 water layers) and internal porosity (d > 30 Å), whereas suspensions in KCl are characterized by the presence of interlayer distances of 10 Å, that is, of collapsed layers. Particles in the KCl suspensions are much thicker than in the NaCl corresponding ones, and also less hydrated at the interlayer level as well as at the internal porosity level. Further increase in salt concentration (0.5 to 1 M) amplifies this effect. As far as temperature is concerned, its effect is to promote the clay dispersion by breaking up the particles, dehydrating and disordering them. This effect is more important for low salt concentration, that is, when the system is less stressed.