The static yield stress and complex dielectric constant of glass spheres dispersed in vacuum oil are measured as a function of (applied electric field) frequency and water content. Based on a model in which the dielectric constants of the solid and the liquid constituents are given by the Debye form with a log-normal distribution of relaxation times, it is shown that the electrical and the mechanical electrorheological responses can be consistently explained through first-principles calculations.

• Received 17 July 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.55.R1294