Two-dimensional magnetic colloids under shear

Complex rheological properties of soft disordered solids, such as colloidal gels or glasses, inspire a range of novel applications. However, the microscopic mechanisms of their response to mechanical loading are not well understood. Here, we elucidate some aspects of these mechanisms by studying a versatile model system, i.e. two-dimensional superparamagnetic colloids in a precessing magnetic field, whose structure can be tuned from a hexagonal crystal to a disordered gel network by varying the external field opening angle θ. We perform Langevin dynamics simulations subjecting these structures to a constant shear rate and observe three qualitatively different types of material response. In hexagonal crystals (θ = 0°), at a sufficiently low shear rate, plastic flow occurs via successive stress drops at which the stress releases due to the formation of dislocation defects. The gel network at θ = 48°, on the contrary, via bond rearrangement and transient shear banding evolves into a homogeneously stretched network at large strains. The latter structure remains metastable after switching off of the shear. At θ = 50°, the external shear makes the system unstable against phase separation and causes a failure of the network structure leading to the formation of hexagonal close packed clusters interconnected by particle chains. At a microcopic level, our simulations provide insight into some of the mechanisms by which strain localization as well as material failure occur in a simple gel-like network. Furthermore, we demonstrate that new stretched network structures can be generated by the application of shear.