Proof of Concept
Reference: Sebastian Bindgen, Frank Bossler and Erin Koos “Defining structural transitions in capil- lary suspensions” Manuscript in Progress.
The structural properties of multiphase systems are essential to overall processability, functionality and acceptance among consumers. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the intrinsic connection between the microstructure of a material and the resulting rheological properties. Here, we demon- strate, how the transitions in the microstructural confirmations can be quantified and correlated to rheological measurements. We find methods from graph theory and thus from the mathematical study of networks, especially the clustering coefficient, to be a useful addition in accomplishing a link be- tween these two characterization methods. Our results, using capillary suspensions as a model system, show that the use of the clustering coefficient, in combination with the coordination number, is able to capture not only the agglomeration of particles, but also measures the formation of groups.