  We investigate confined shear thickening suspensions for which the sample
thickness is comparable to the particle dimensions. Rheometry measurements are
presented for densely packed suspensions of spheres and rods with aspect ratios
6 and 9. By varying the suspension thickness in the direction of the shear
gradient at constant shear rate, we find pronounced oscillations in the stress.
These oscillations become stronger as the gap size is decreased, and the stress
is minimized when the sample thickness becomes commensurate with an integer
number of particle layers. Despite this confinement-induced effect, viscosity
curves show shear thickening that retains bulk behavior down to samples as thin
as two particle diameters for spheres, below which the suspension is jammed.
Rods exhibit similar behavior commensurate with the particle width, but they
show additional effects when the thickness is reduced below about a particle
length as they are forced to align; the stress increases for decreasing gap
size at fixed shear rate while the shear thickening regime gradually
transitions to a Newtonian scaling regime. This weakening of shear thickening
as an ordered configuration is approached contrasts with the strengthening of
shear thickening when the packing fraction is increased in the disordered bulk
limit, despite the fact that both types of confinement eventually lead to
jamming.
