When a droplet of water impacts a hydrophobic surface, the drop is often observed to bounce. However, for about 10 years it has been known that the addition of very small quantities (approximately 100 ppm) of a flexible polymer such as poly-(ethylene oxide) can completely prevent rebound. This effect has for some time been explained in terms of the stretching of polymer chains by a velocity gradient in the fluid, resulting in a transient increase in the so-called "extensional viscosity." Here we show, by measuring the fluid velocity inside the impacting drop, that the extensional viscosity plays no role in the antirebound phenomenon. Using fluorescently labeled lambda DNA we demonstrate that the observed effect is due to the stretching of polymer molecules as the droplet edge sweeps the substrate, retarding the movement of the receding contact line.

Concentrated particulate suspensions, commonplace in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, display intriguing rheology. In particular, the dramatic increase in viscosity with strain rate (shear thickening and jamming), which is often observed at high-volume fractions, is of practical and fundamental importance. Yet, manufacture of these products and their subsequent dispensing often involves flow geometries substantially different from that of simple shear flow experiments. In this study, we show that the elongation and breakage of a filament of a colloidal fluid under tensile loading is closely related to the jamming transition seen in its shear rheology. However, the modified flow geometry reveals important additional effects. using a model system with nearly hard-core interactions, we provide evidence of surprisingly strong viscoelasticity in such a colloidal fluid under tension. With high-speed photography, we also directly observe dilatancy and granulation effects, which lead to fracture above a critical elongation rate.

Crack formation and the evolution of stress in drying films of colloidal particles were studied using optical microscopy and a modified cantilever deflection technique, respectively. Drying experiments were performed using polystyrene particles with diameters of 47 ± 10 nm, 100 ± 16 nm, and 274 ± 44 nm that were suspended in water. As the films dried, cracks with a well-defined spacing were observed to form. The crack spacing was found to be independent of the particle size used, but to increase with the film thickness. The characteristic crack spacing was found to vary between 20 and 300 μm for films with thickness values in the range 3-70 μm. Cantilever deflection measurements revealed that the stresses that develop in the film increase with decreasing film thickness (increasing surface-to-volume ratio). The latter observation was interpreted in terms of the effects of a substrate constraint which causes the build up of stresses in the films. This interpretation was confirmed by crack formation experiments that were performed on liquid mercury surfaces in which removal of the substrate constraint prevented crack formation. Experiments were also performed on compliant elastomer surfaces in which the level of constraint was varied by changing the substrate modulus. The cracking length scale was found to increase with decreasing substrate modulus. A simple theory was also developed to describe the substrate modulus dependence of the cracking length scale. These combined experiments and theory provide convincing evidence that substrate constraints are an important factor in driving crack formation in thin colloidal films.