Abrupt Transition from Viscoelastic Solidlike to Liquidlike Behavior in Jammed Materials

Abstract

Using a new rheometrical technique, which makes it possible to determine both the velocity field in steady state and the strain field in the very first instants of the flow, we show that, beyond a critical deformation, typical pasty materials (a foam and a polymeric gel) turn abruptly from a viscoelastic solidlike behavior to a steady liquidlike behavior at a shear rate larger than a critical value.