ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL FLUIDS UNDER SHEAR

The behavior of an electrorheological (ER) chain under a shear force is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Contrary to the conventional assumption that the ER chain under a shear force becomes slanted and breaks at the middle, we have found that there is symmetry breaking. When the shear strain is small, the chain becomes slanted with a space gap between the first and second particles (or between the last and next last particles). As the shear strain increases, the gap becomes wider and wider. When the shear strain exceeds a critical value, the chain breaks at the gap. The experiment also confirms that an ER chain under the shear breaks at either end, not at the middle. This symmetry breaking reflects the space's anisotropy, which is the result of the applied electric field.