Slip and flow in pastes of soft particles: Direct observation and rheology

Microgel pastes and concentrated emulsions are shown to exhibit a generic slip behavior at low stresses when sheared near smooth surfaces. The magnitude of slip depends on the applied stress. Well above the yield stress, slip is negligible compared to the bulk flow. Just above the yield stress, slip becomes significant and the total deformation results from a combination of bulk flow and slip. At and below the yield stress, the bulk flow is negligible and the apparent motion is entirely due to wall slip. By directly imaging the deformation of pastes and from rheological measurements, we show that slip is characterized by universal scaling properties, which depend on solvent viscosity, bulk shear modulus, and particle size. A model based on elastohydrodynamic lubrication between the squeezed particles and the shearing surface explains these properties quantitatively.