Formation of composite materials in gradient flows of suspensions

The rheological constitutive equations for dilute suspension of rigid axisymmetric elongated particles immersed in the Ericksen anisotropic fluid are obtained within the framework of a structure–phenomenological approach. As a hydrodynamic model of suspended particles possessing zero buoyancy, a symmetric triaxial dumbbell is used. The effect of anisotropy of the suspension carrier fluid is investigated on the dynamics of suspended particles and on the rheological properties of the suspension in simple shear flow. A stationary orientation of the elongated suspended particles under the action of hydrodynamic forces is found. These results offer the possibility of formation of composite materials by friction forces arising in gradient flows of a dilute suspension of axisymmetric rigid particles with anisotropic carrier fluid.