Brownian dynamics simulation on orthogonal superposition rheology: Time–shear rate superposition of colloidal gel

The dynamics of model colloidal gels under a steady shear flow is studied by means of a Brownian dynamics (BD) simulation while applying orthogonal superposition rheometry, which superimposes a small amplitude oscillatory flow orthogonal to the main flow direction. Orthogonal dynamic frequency sweep (ODFS) curves are obtained at various magnitudes of the main flow, which shows shear thinning behavior of the colloidal gel. The viscoelastic spectra of the ODFS can be superimposed onto a master curve by the horizontal shift factor, which is equivalent to particle viscosity. That is, the shear rate controls a single master clock for all viscoelastic spectra of the ODFS in the form of a time–shear rate superposition, which bears an analogy with the time–temperature superposition of polymeric systems. In the low-frequency region of the master curve, both orthogonal moduli are well superimposed…