Abdoulaye Fall

• Ph.D. in Physics
• Researcher at French National Centre for Scientific Research

The microstructure of sheared unsaturated wet granular materials, comprising solid particles, liquid phases, and void spaces, is explored using X-ray micro-tomography. Advanced segmentation techniques are employed to overcome challenges in distinguishing phases within the material, utilizing a combination of Random Forest and U-Net models for accur...

We report on experiments and discrete element simulations of homogeneous, simple, normal stress-controlled, shear flows of model unsaturated granular materials: assemblies of frictional spherical particles bonded by a small quantity of a wetting liquid. The rheology of such unsaturated granular materials in the dense flow regime was characterized i...

We report on experiments and discrete element simulations of homogeneous, simple, normal stress-controlled, shear flows of model unsaturated granular materials: assemblies of frictional spherical particles bonded by a small quantity of a wetting liquid. The rheology of such unsaturated granular materials in the dense flow regime was characterized i...

Multi-phase flows, encountered in nature or in industry, exhibit non-trivial rheological properties, which we attempt to better understand thanks to model materials and appropriate rheometers. Unsaturated wet granular flows down a rough inclined plane turn out to be steady and uniform for a wide range of parameters, despite the cohesion and the gra...

The present work investigates nonlinear behavior in large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) of unsaturated wet granular materials using pressure-imposed rheometric measurements that enable to explore how the material properties characterizing the flow response depend on both strain amplitude and frequency of deformation. Away from the quasistatic...

Multi-phase flows, encountered in nature or in industry, exhibit non-trivial rheological properties that can be understood better thanks to model materials and appropriate rheometers. Here, we use model unsaturated wet granular materials: frictional spherical particles bonded by a small quantity of a wetting liquid, flowing down a rough inclined pl...

Poly (methacrylic acid) (PMAA) solutions are known to exhibit a lower critical solution temperature (LCST). A temperature-composition phase diagram of PMAA has been constructed by standard cloud point determination through transmittance measurements, and also by studying the steady states reached under phase separation. This allows us to reconstruc...

The present work investigates nonlinear behavior in large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) of unsaturated wet granular materials using pressure-imposed rheometric measurements that enable to explore how the material properties characterizing the flow response depend on both strain amplitude and frequency of deformation. Away from the quasistatic...

Multi-phase flows encountered in nature or in industry, exhibit non trivial rheological properties, that can be understood better thanks to model materials and appropriate rheometers. Here, we use model unsaturated granular materials: frictional spherical particles bonded by a small quantity of a wetting liquid, flowing over a rough inclined plane....

We show that foams and emulsions can display a fundamentally different normal response to a simple shear deformation. While foams dilate or push outwards on the shearing surfaces, known as a positive Poynting effect, in emulsions the Poynting effect can have either sign, and can be tuned by changing the emulsion properties. We relate the sign of Po...

This work aims at gaining a comprehensive picture of the interactions between three differently functionalized silica nanoparticles and a polyacid – PMAA namely – in aqueous media. Native silica nanoparticles and silica nanoparticles functionalized with amine or quaternary amine groups are either negatively or positively charged with various charge...

This work aims at gaining a comprehensive picture of the interactions between three differently functionalized silica nanoparticles and a polyacid-PMAA namely-in aqueous media. Native silica nanoparticles and silica nanoparticles functionalized with amine or quaternary amine groups are either negatively or positively charged with various charge den...

Multi-phase flows encountered in nature or in industry, exhibit non trivial rheological properties, that can be understood better thanks to model materials and appropriate rheometers. Here, we use model unsaturated granular materials: assemblies of frictional spherical particles bonded by a small quantity of a wetting liquid, over a rough inclined...

Shear thickening corresponds to an increase of the viscosity as a function of the shear rate. It is observed in many concentrated suspensions in nature and industry: water or oil saturated sediments, crystal-bearing magma, fresh concrete, silica suspensions, and cornstarch mixtures. Here, we reveal how shear-thickening suspensions flow, shedding li...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a powerful and non-invasive technique that can be used to reveal useful information about different types of materials. During an MRI experiment a magnetic resonance signal is induced (according to Faraday's law of induction) in a device called "probe". MRI probes are simply near field antennas designed in a spec...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a powerful and non-invasive technique that can be used to reveal useful information about different types of materials. During an MRI experiment a magnetic resonance signal is induced (according to Faraday's law of induction) in a device called "probe". MRI probes are simply near field antennas designed in a spec...

The objective of this study was to characterize the rheology of a pharmaceutical material in the context of the μ(I)-rheology model and to use this model to predict powder flow in a manufacturing operation that is relevant to pharmaceutical manufacturing. The rheology of microcrystalline cellulose spheres was therefore characterized in terms of the...

Rheometric measurements on assemblies of wet polystyrene beads, in steady uniform quasistatic shear flow, for varying liquid content within the small saturation (pendular) range of isolated liquid bridges, are supplemented with a systematic study by discrete numerical simulations. The numerical results agree quantitatively with the experimental one...

When dealing with unsaturated wet granular materials, a fundamental question is: what is the effect of capillary cohesion on the bulk flow and yield behavior? We investigate the dense-flow rheology of unsaturated granular materials through experiments and discrete element simulations of homogeneous, simple annular shear flows of frictional, cohesiv...

When dealing with unsaturated wet granular materials, a fundamental question is: what is the effect of capillary cohesion on the bulk flow and yield behavior? We inwestigate the dense flow rheology of unsaturated granular materials through experiments and discrete element simulations of homogeneous, simple annular shear flows of frictional, cohesiv...

When dealing with unsaturated wet granular materials, a fundamental question is: what is the effect of capillary cohesion on the bulk flow and yield behavior? We inwestigate the dense flow rheology of unsaturated granular materials through experiments and discrete element simulations of homogeneous, simple annular shear flows of frictional, cohesiv...

Rheometric measurements on assemblies of wet polystyrene bead assemblies, in steady uniform quasistatic shear flow, for varying liquid content within the small saturation (pendular) range of isolated liquid bridges, are supplemented with a systematic study by discrete numerical simulations. Numerical results and experimental ones agree quantitative...

Granular materials do not always flow homogeneously like fluids when submitted to external stress, but often form rigid regions that are separated by narrow shear bands where the material yields and flows. This shear localization impacts their apparent rheology, which makes it difficult to infer a constitutive behavior from conventional rheometric...

Foams made of complex fluids such as particle suspensions have a great potential for the development of advanced aerated materials. In this paper we study the rheological behavior of liquid foams loaded with granular suspensions. We focus on the effect of small particles, i.e. particle-to-bubble size ratio smaller than 0.1, and we measure the compl...

Foams made of complex fluids such as particle suspensions have a great potential for the development of advanced aerated materials. In this paper we study the rheological behavior of liquid foams loaded with granular suspensions. We focus on the effect of small particles, i.e. particle-to-bubble size ratio smaller than 0.1, and we measure the compl...

Concentrated aqueous solutions of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) display a sharp increase of their viscosity over time under a shear. This phenomenon known as antithixotropy is studied as a function of the polymer concentration and ionization degree. Both shear and oscillatory shear experiments are used to characterize rheological behavior of PMMA s...

We study the emergence of discontinuous shear-thickening (DST) in cornstarch, the well know system for this phenomenon, by combining macroscopic rheometry with local Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measurements. We bring evidence that macroscopic DST is characterized in wide gap with a shear localization, part of the material close to the inner cy...

The behaviour of wet granular media in shear flow is characterized by the dependence of apparent friction μ* and solid fraction Φs on the reduced pressure P* and the inertia number I. Reduced pressure, P* = σ22a2/F0, compares the applied normal stress σ22 on grains of diameter a to the tensile strength of contact F0 (proportional to the surface ten...

The behaviour of wet granular media in shear flow is characterized by the dependence of apparent friction μ* and solid fraction ΦS on the reduced pressure P* and the inertia number I. Reduced pressure, P*= σ22a2/F0, compares the applied normal stress σ22 on grains of diameter a to the tensile strength of contact F0 (proportional to the surface tens...

Granular materials do not flow homogeneously like fluids when submitted to external stress,but often form rigid regions that are separated by narrow shear bands where the material yields and flows. This shear localization impacts their apparent rheology, which makes it difficult to infer a constitutive behaviour from conventional rheometric measure...

The flow of dry and wet granular media is investigated in a Couette geometry using magnetic resonance imaging in order to test the applicability of the “fluidity model” for nonlocality in these materials. Local volume fraction measurements show that the systems become heterogeneous during flow. We find that the nonlocal rheology of suspensions can...

We study the emergence of discontinuous shear-thickening (DST) in cornstarch, by combining macroscopic rheometry with local Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measurements. We bring evidence that macroscopic DST is observed only when the flow separates into a low-density flowing and a high-density jammed region. In the shear-thickened steady state, t...

We show experimentally that the sliding friction on sand is greatly reduced by the addition of some-but not too much-water. The formation of capillary water bridges increases the shear modulus of the sand, which facilitates the sliding. Too much water, on the other hand, makes the capillary bridges coalesce, resulting in a decrease of the modulus;...

We study the local and global rheology of non-Brownian suspensions in a solvent that is not density-matched, leading to either creaming or sedimentation of the particles. Both local and global measurements show that the incomplete density matching leads to the appearance of a critical shear rate above which the suspension is homogenized by the flow...

In this study, two types of oscillatory shear rheology are applied on dark chocolate with varying volume fraction, particle size distribution, and soy lecithin concentration. The first, a conventional strain sweep, allows for the separation of the elastic and viscous properties during the yielding. The second, a constant strain rate sweep, where th...

We investigated the stress-strain behavior of sand with and without small amounts of liquid under steady and oscillatory shear. Since dry sand has a lower shear modulus, one would expect it to deform more easily. Using a new technique to quasistatically push the sand through a tube with an enforced parabolic (Poiseuille-like) profile, we minimize t...

We study the rheology of cornstarch suspensions, a non-Brownian particle system that exhibits discontinuous shear thickening. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the local properties of the flow are obtained by the determination of local velocity profiles and concentrations in a Couette cell. For low rotational rates, we observe shear localizat...

Pattern formation from drying droplets containing sedimenting particles and dewetting of thin films of such suspensions was studied. The dewetting causes the formation of finger-like patterns near the contact line which leave behind a deposit of branches. We find that the strikingly low speed of dewetting is due to the high particle concentration i...

We study the effect of addition of polyethylene oxide (PEO) on the rheological behavior of suspensions of Laponite. Experiments were performed on mixtures of PEO and Laponite at different concentrations. These mixtures can exhibit very strong shear thickening behavior: under shear, the suspension can become a yield stress material sufficiently stro...

We study the emergence of shear thickening in dense suspensions of non-Brownian particles. We combine local velocity and concentration measurements using magnetic resonance imaging with macroscopic rheometry experiments. In steady state, we observe that the material is heterogeneous, and we find that the local rheology presents a continuous transit...

Yield stress fluids have proven difficult to characterize, and a reproducible determination of the yield stress is difficult. We study two types of yield stress fluids (YSF) in a single system: simple and thixotropic ones. This allows us to show that simple YSF are simply a special case of thixotropic ones, and to pinpoint the difference between st...

We study the emergence of shear thickening in dense suspensions of non-Brownian particles. We combine local velocity and concentration measurements using Magnetic Resonance Imaging with global rheometric experiments. We evidence a continuous transition at very low shear rate from a viscous to a shear thickening, granular, rheology characterized by...

We propose a new view on yield stress materials. Dense suspensions and many other materials have a yield stress-they flow only if a large enough shear stress is exerted on them. There has been an ongoing debate in the literature on whether true yield stress fluids exist, and even whether the concept is useful. This is mainly due to the experimental...

We study the emergence of a yield stress in dense suspensions of non-Brownian particles, by combining local velocity and concentration measurements using Magnetic Resonance Imaging with macroscopic rheometric experiments. We show that the competition between gravity and viscous stresses is at the origin of the development of a yield stress in these...

We study the rheology of quick clay, an unstable soil responsible for many landslides. We show that above a critical stress the material starts flowing abruptly with a very large viscosity decrease caused by the flow. This leads to avalanche behavior that accounts for the instability of quick clay soils. Reproducing landslides on a small scale in t...

For more than 20 years it has been debated if yield stress fluids are solid below the yield stress or actually flow; whether true yield stress fluids exist or not. Advocates of the true yield stress picture have demonstrated that the effective viscosity increases very rapidly as the stress is decreased towards the yield stress. Opponents have shown...

For more than 20 years it has been debated if yield stress fluids are solid below the yield stress or actually flow; whether true yield stress fluids exist or not. Advocates of the true yield stress picture have demonstrated that the effective viscosity increases very rapidly as the stress is decreased towards the yield stress. Opponents have shown...

We study the rheological behavior of concentrated suspensions of non-Brownian particles: cornstarch or mono-disperse spherical polystyrene beads. The latter model system is used to be able to control the physical properties of the suspension. We focus on two phenomena encountered in particle pastes: the yield stress and the shear thickening behavio...

We study the rheology of cornstarch suspensions, a non-Brownian particle system that exhibits shear thickening. From magnetic resonance imaging velocimetry and classical rheology it follows that as a function of the applied stress the suspension is first solid (yield stress), then liquid, and then solid again when it shear thickens. For the onset o...

Nous reportons ici le comportement rhéologique de suspensions concentrées de particules non browniennes de fécule de maïs ou de polystyrène sphériques et monodisperses. Le système modèle de particules de polystyrène est utilisé afin de contrôler les propriétés physicochimiques de la suspension. Ce travail expérimental s'articule autour de deux aspe...