Flow, Ordering and Jamming of Sheared Granular Suspensions

We study the rheological properties of a granular suspension subject to constant shear stress by constant volume molecular dynamics simulations. We derive the system `flow diagram’ in the volume fraction/stress plane $(\varphi ,F)$: at low $\varphi$ the flow is disordered, with the viscosity obeying a Bagnold-like scaling only at small $F$ and diverging as the jamming point is approached; if the shear stress is strong enough, at higher $\varphi$ an ordered flow regime is found, the order/disorder transition being marked by a sharp drop of the viscosity. A broad jamming region is also observed where, in analogy with the glassy region of thermal systems, slow dynamics followed by kinetic arrest occurs when the ordering transition is prevented.