title: How colloid-colloid interactions and hydrodynamic effects influence the percolation threshold: A simulation study in alumina suspensions.
abstract: The percolation behavior of alumina suspensions is studied by computer simulations. The percolation threshold ϕc is calculated, determining the key factors that affect its magnitude: the strength of colloid-colloid attraction and the presence of hydrodynamic interactions (HIs). To isolate the effects of HIs, we compare the results of Brownian Dynamics, which do not include hydrodynamics, with those of Stochastic Rotation Dynamics-Molecular Dynamics, which include hydrodynamics. Our results show that ϕc decreases with the increase of the attraction between the colloids. The inclusion of HIs always leads to more elongated structures during the aggregation process, producing a sizable decrease of ϕc when the colloid-colloid attraction is not too strong. On the other hand, the effects of HIs on ϕc tend to become negligible with increasing attraction strength. Our ϕc values are in good agreement with those estimated by the yield stress model by Flatt and Bowen.
authors.affiliation: SPCTS, UMR 7315, ENSCI, CNRS, Centre Européen de la Céramique, 12 rue Atlantis, 87068 Limoges cedex, France.
authors.forename: Aleena Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Laganapan
authors.affiliation: SPCTS, UMR 7315, ENSCI, CNRS, Centre Européen de la Céramique, 12 rue Atlantis, 87068 Limoges cedex, France.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mouas
authors.affiliation: SPCTS, UMR 7315, ENSCI, CNRS, Centre Européen de la Céramique, 12 rue Atlantis, 87068 Limoges cedex, France. Electronic address: arnaud.videcoq@unilim.fr.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Videcoq
authors.affiliation: SPCTS, UMR 7315, ENSCI, CNRS, Centre Européen de la Céramique, 12 rue Atlantis, 87068 Limoges cedex, France.
authors.forename: Manuella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerbelaud
authors.affiliation: SPCTS, UMR 7315, ENSCI, CNRS, Centre Européen de la Céramique, 12 rue Atlantis, 87068 Limoges cedex, France.
authors.forename: Marguerite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bienia
authors.affiliation: Powder Technology Laboratory, Material Science Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale and CNR-IMEM, via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferrando
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D012212:Rheology; D013535:Suspensions
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D013535:Suspensions; D000537:Aluminum Oxide
keywords: Brownian Dynamics; Ceramic processing; Computer simulations; Hydrodynamic interactions; Ionic strength; Molecular Dynamics; Percolation threshold; Stochastic Rotation Dynamics