Jamming, Two-Fluid Behavior, and “Self-Filtration” in Concentrated Particulate Suspensions

We study the flow of model hard-sphere colloidal suspensions at high volume fraction Φ driven through a constriction by a pressure gradient. Above a particle-size dependent limit Φ₀, direct microscopic observations demonstrate jamming and unjamming—conversion of fluid to solid and vice versa—during flow. We show that such a jamming flow produces a reduction in colloid concentration Φ_x downstream of the constriction. We propose that this “self-filtration” effect is due to a combination of jamming of the particulate part of the system and continuing flow of the liquid part, i.e., the solvent, through the pores of the jammed solid. Thus we link jamming in colloidal and granular media with a “two-fluid-like” picture of the flow of concentrated suspensions. Results are also discussed in the light of the original experiments of Reynolds on dilation in granular materials.