Universal scalings and switching entropy in yield-stress fluids

Abstract

Yield-stress fluids undergo a singular solid-to-liquid transition at a critical stress threshold. While conventionally investigated under steady shear, large-amplitude oscillatory tests force these materials to cyclically navigate between arrested and fluidized states. Here, we uncover a hidden universality in their non-linear oscillatory response: at sufficiently low frequencies their first-harmonic viscoelastic moduli collapse onto master curves against strain amplitude. This collapse reflects an invariant intra-cycle stress plateau, showing that the material rearranges almost instantaneously to maintain a constant stress state governed by a unique temporal trajectory of its relaxation time. We capture this phenomenology using a new fluidity model derived from a Lyapunov function exhibiting symmetry breaking. Our framework reveals that recoverable elastic energy, fragility, and the entropy produced during stress inversion are fundamentally intertwined, defining a single viscoplastic parameter that governs yielding abruptness and provides a novel thermomechanical foundation for the dynamic yield stress.