25 research outputs found
Efficient and accurate simulations of deformable particles immersed in a fluid using a combined immersed boundary lattice Boltzmann finite element method
The deformation of an initially spherical capsule, freely suspended in simple
shear flow, can be computed analytically in the limit of small deformations [D.
Barthes-Biesel, J. M. Rallison, The Time-Dependent Deformation of a Capsule
Freely Suspended in a Linear Shear Flow, J. Fluid Mech. 113 (1981) 251-267].
Those analytic approximations are used to study the influence of the mesh
tessellation method, the spatial resolution, and the discrete delta function of
the immersed boundary method on the numerical results obtained by a coupled
immersed boundary lattice Boltzmann finite element method. For the description
of the capsule membrane, a finite element method and the Skalak constitutive
model [R. Skalak et al., Strain Energy Function of Red Blood Cell Membranes,
Biophys. J. 13 (1973) 245-264] have been employed. Our primary goal is the
investigation of the presented model for small resolutions to provide a sound
basis for efficient but accurate simulations of multiple deformable particles
immersed in a fluid. We come to the conclusion that details of the membrane
mesh, as tessellation method and resolution, play only a minor role. The
hydrodynamic resolution, i.e., the width of the discrete delta function, can
significantly influence the accuracy of the simulations. The discretization of
the delta function introduces an artificial length scale, which effectively
changes the radius and the deformability of the capsule. We discuss
possibilities of reducing the computing time of simulations of deformable
objects immersed in a fluid while maintaining high accuracy.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 3 table
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Deformability of red blood cells affects their velocity in deterministic lateral displacement devices
This paper was presented at the 4th Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2014), which was held at University College, London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute, ASME Press, LCN London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL University College London, UCL Engineering, the International NanoScience Community, www.nanopaprika.eu.Recent years have witnessed a strong increase of interest in mechanical particle separation in structured microfluidic devices. Particular examples are enrichment of rare cells in blood (e.g. cancer cells) or separation of complex mixtures of suspended particles. In many cases, particles are separated based on their size, for example white and red blood cells (RBCs). A less common idea is deformability-based sorting of particles of the same size â an approach relevant for malaria detection where the infected RBCs are usually more rigid than their healthy counterparts. We have recently shown that the trajectories of RBCs in deterministic lateral displacement devices strongly depend on their rigidity. In the present article, we investigate â via computer simulations based on the immersed-boundary, lattice-Boltzmann and finite-element methods â the RBC velocity and show that it is significantly affected by the cellsâ deformability
Particle mobility between two planar elastic membranes: Brownian motion and membrane deformation
We study the motion of a solid particle immersed in a Newtonian fluid and
confined between two parallel elastic membranes possessing shear and bending
rigidity. The hydrodynamic mobility depends on the frequency of the particle
motion due to the elastic energy stored in the membrane. Unlike the
single-membrane case, a coupling between shearing and bending exists. The
commonly used approximation of superposing two single-membrane contributions is
found to give reasonable results only for motions in the parallel, but not in
the perpendicular direction. We also compute analytically the membrane
deformation resulting from the motion of the particle, showing that the
presence of the second membrane reduces deformation. Using the
fluctuation-dissipation theorem we compute the Brownian motion of the particle,
finding a long-lasting subdiffusive regime at intermediate time scales. We
finally assess the accuracy of the employed point-particle approximation via
boundary-integral simulations for a truly extended particle. They are found to
be in excellent agreement with the analytical predictions.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures and 96 references. Revised version resubmitted to
Phys. Fluid
Slow rotation of a spherical particle inside an elastic tube
In this paper, we present an analytical calculation of the rotational
mobility functions of a particle rotating on the centerline of an elastic
cylindrical tube whose membrane exhibits resistance towards shearing and
bending. We find that the correction to the particle rotational mobility about
the cylinder axis depends solely on membrane shearing properties while both
shearing and bending manifest themselves for the rotational mobility about an
axis perpendicular to the cylinder axis. In the quasi-steady limit of vanishing
frequency, the particle rotational mobility nearby a no-slip rigid cylinder is
recovered only if the membrane possesses a non-vanishing resistance towards
shearing. We further show that for the asymmetric rotation along the cylinder
radial axis, a coupling between shearing and bending exists. Our analytical
predictions are compared and validated with corresponding boundary integral
simulations where a very good agreement is obtained.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures and 107 references. Revised manuscript
resubmitted to Acta Mec