Effect of high power ultrasound on gels and the shear thickening transition

Acoustic vibrations may alter the properties of colloidal dispersions. In colloidal gels ultrasonic vibrations tend to soften the gel elasticity due to the formation of microcracks. Recent preliminary results obtained in our group have also shown that we can tune the properties of the shear thickening transition in colloidal dispersions with ultrasound vibration. In this proposal, we aim to mount on the saxs beamline our own rheometer coupled to an ultrasound transducer to investigate the effect of high power ultrasound (no cavitation) simultaneously on the mechanical and structural property of colloidal gels and colloidal shear thickening dispersions.