When particles of micron size are dispersed throughout a Newtonian fluid such as water, the suspension is commonly denoted as a colloidal suspension and can exhibit diverse mechanical and transport properties. For example, the viscosity of our blood
(which can be viewed as a suspension of red blood cells from a materials
perspective), which is a critical parameter of the cardiovascular system, varies
as a function of blood flow rate.
For many practical applications, it is of great value to be able
to manipulate these properties by controlling the microstructure—the spatial
organization of the dispersed particles, with an external field such as a fluid
flow. Realization of such a manipulation
requires knowledge about two things: how to identify the exact microstructure
underlying the desired macroscopic properties; and how particle
characteristics, and their interaction with the external field, generate
particular microstructures. |