https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2008-10361-0
Regular Article
Flow curves of colloidal dispersions close to the glass transition
Asymptotic scaling laws in a schematic model of mode coupling theory
1
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Institut für Physik, Staudinger Weg 7, D-55099, Mainz, Germany
2
Universität Konstanz, Fachbereich Physik, D-78457, Konstanz, Germany
* e-mail: matthias.fuchs@uni-konstanz.de
Received:
30
April
2008
Published online:
9
September
2008
The flow curves, viz. the curves of stationary stress under steady shearing, are obtained close to the glass transition in dense colloidal dispersions using asymptotic expansions in the schematic 
-model of mode coupling theory. The shear thinning of the viscosity in fluid states and the yielding of glassy states is discussed. At the transition between fluid and shear-molten glass, simple and generalized Herschel-Bulkley laws are derived with power law exponents that can be computed for different particle interactions from the equilibrium structure factor.
PACS: 82.70.Dd Colloids – / 83.50.Ax Steady shear flows, viscometric flow – / 83.60.Df Nonlinear viscoelasticity – / 64.70.Q- Theory and modeling of the glass transition –
© EDP Sciences, SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2009
