Large-scale structures in sheared colloidal dispersions

Research into the structures induced by flow in various colloidal systems has started to focus in the past few years on large-scale structures and inhomogeneous flow phenomena. Some novel experimental observations using rheo-optical or NMR imaging techniques, as well as theoretical developments, have unraveled a wide variety of flow-induced structural phenomena, including shear banding and the development of structural anisotropy in weakly aggregated dispersions and near-critical systems.