AMI seminar: Jan Vermant

Room 170.048, Adolphe Merkle Institute, Marly

Thursday, March 4th, 2010  16:00 h

Particles suspended in complex, viscoelastic fluids: effects of structuring and rheology

Prof. Dr. Jan Vermant

Department of chemical engineering, University of Leuven, Belgium

When particles are dispersed in complex fluids, such as a polymer or polymer solution, a surfactant or another colloidal system, the forces acting on the particles get altered. In the present work we focus on effects of the changes in the hydrodynamic forces on (and in between) the particles. Starting from the effects of flow on a singular particle, we will gradually increase complexity and study hydrodynamic interactions and migration effects as well as the effects of particle shape. The potential for viscoelastic stresses to direct the self-assembly of particles into strings and 2D sheets will be discussed. Finally we will try to show the link with the rheological properties of such soft matter composites.