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This paper presents a theory to obtain the force per unit length acting on a slender filament with a non-circular cross-section moving in a fluid at low Reynolds number. Using a regular perturbation of the inner solution, we show that the force per unit length has $$O(1/\ln (2A))+O(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}/\ln ^{2}(2A))$$ contributions driven by the relative motion of the particle and the local fluid velocity and an $$O(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}/(\ln (2A)A))$$ contribution driven by the gradient in the imposed fluid velocity. Here, the aspect ratio ( $$A=l/a_{0}$$ ) is defined as the ratio of the particle size ( $$l$$ ) to the cross-sectional dimension ( $$a_{0}$$ ) and $$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}$$ is the amplitude of the non-circular perturbation. Using thought experiments, we show that two-lobed and three-lobed cross-sections affect the response to relative motion and velocity gradients, respectively. A two-dimensional Stokes flow calculation is used to extend the perturbation analysis to cross-sections that deviate significantly from a circle (i.e. $$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}\sim O(1)$$ ). We demonstrate the ability of our method to accurately compute the resistance to translation and rotation of a slender triaxial ellipsoid. Furthermore, we illustrate novel dynamics of straight rods in a simple shear flow that translate and rotate quasi-periodically if they have two-lobed cross-section, and rotate chaotically and translate diffusively if they have a combination of two- and three-lobed cross-sections. Finally, we show the remarkable ability of our theory to accurately predict the motion of rings, retaining great accuracy for moderate aspect ratios ( $${\sim}10$$ ) and cross-sections that deviate significantly from a circle, thereby making our theory a computationally inexpensive alternative to other Stokes flow solvers.
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Controlling rotation and migration of rings in a simple shear flow through geometric modifications
A ring with a cross-section that has a blunt inner and sharper outer edge can attain an equilibrium orientation in a Newtonian fluid subject to a low Reynolds number simple shear flow. This may be contrasted with the continuous rotation exhibited by most rigid bodies. Such rings align along an orientation when the rotation due to fluid vorticity balances the counter-rotation due to the extensional component of the simple shear flow. While the viscous stress on the particle tries to rotate it, the pressure can generate a counter-vorticity torque that aligns the particle. Using boundary integral computations, we demonstrate ways to effectively control this pressure by altering the geometry of the ring cross-section, thus leading to alignment at moderate particle aspect ratios. Aligning rings that lack fore–aft symmetry can migrate indefinitely along the gradient direction. This differs from the periodic spatial trajectories of fore–aft asymmetric axisymmetric particles that rotate in periodic orbits. The mechanism for migration of aligned rings along the gradient direction is elucidated in this work. The migration speed can be controlled by varying the cross-sectional shape and size of the ring. Our results provide new insights into controlling motion of individual particles and thereby open new pathways towards manipulating macroscopic properties of a suspension.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1435013
- PAR ID:
- 10095326
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Volume:
- 840
- ISSN:
- 0022-1120
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 379 to 407
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2018.20
