Dispersion of a Suspension Plug in a Periodic Shear Flow

The dispersion of a suspension plug, as a non-fully populated system has not previously been studied experimentally. We investigate the shear-induced dispersion of a suspension plug in an oscillating shear flow at low Reynolds number in a circular capillary. Paramagnetic particles with d= 100 µm are used to form a plug inside a capillary filled with particle-free fluid with ID= 1.16 mm, using magnets.  The variables studied are volume fraction, amplitude and number of oscillations.  We demonstrate that the irreversibility of the suspension system is a function of strain amplitude and volume fraction. Experimental results, including the dispersion coefficient are compared with the theoretical results of simulation studies.