Education:
- The University of Akron (Ph.D. Chemical Engineering 2023-Present)
- University of Ghana (BSc. Process Engineering 2014-2018)
Research Statement:
Soft particle glasses (SPGs) are a well-studied class of yield stress fluids materials in which the interparticle contacts of these deformable particles generate a repulsive elastic force. Yield stress fluids, such as toothpaste and mayonnaise, are formed by soft particulates suspended in a Newtonian solvent and jammed beyond the random close-packing fraction. They behave like weak elastic solids below the dynamic yield stress and show power-law fluid behavior above it. Thus, the flow behavior in these materials can be well-described by empirical rheological models such as Hershel-Bulkley equation. Unlike regular SPGs, associative SPGs are disordered soft particles with the capability of exerting short-range interparticle associative interactions due to the existence of a hydrophobic layer on the particle surface. Similar to SPGs, there is yielding in associative SPGs. However, yielding transition differs from regular SPGs due to the presence of associative nature of forces which cause shear localization or shear banding. Hence, the flow curves of associative SPGs are distinct from those of regular SPGs, not having a model that can describe the macroscopic rheology of associative SPGs. We hypothesize using Johnson–Kendall–Roberts theory with appropriate friction between particles can be used to model the macroscopic flow behavior and establish a relationship between their microstructure and rheological properties.