Particles of varying size and shape in viscoelastic shear flow

In many applications particles can be found in flowing fluids, from air and blood to paints and pharmaceuticals. These fluids often display complex behavior which is only enhanced by the presence of particles. For example, rigid particles are known to align and form chain-like structures in a sheared, viscoelastic fluids. 

This project focuses on the influence of the properties of the particles on their behaviour in viscoelastic fluids under shear flow. The first goal of the project is to investigate the influence of the size distribution of circular particles on the alignment of the particles. A second goal is to study the influence of the shape on the alignment by modelling particles as elliptic with varying aspect ratios. A final goal of the project is to investigate the influence of the size and shape of particles on the bulk rheology of suspensions.