  Recent advances in shear-thickening suspension rheology suggest a relation
between (wet) suspension flow below jamming and (dry) granular physics. To
probe this connection, we simulated the contact force networks in suspensions
of non-Brownian spheres using the discrete element method (DEM), varying the
particle friction coefficient and volume fraction. We find that force networks
in these suspensions show quantitative similarities to those in jammed dry
grains. As suspensions approach the jamming point, the extrapolated volume
fraction and coordination number at jamming are similar to critical values
obtained for isotropically compressed spheres. Similarly, the shape of the
distribution of contact forces in flowing suspensions is remarkably similar to
that found in granular packings, suggesting potential refinements for
analytical mean field models for the rheology of shear thickening suspensions.
