1 research outputs found
Inertial migration of oblate spheroids in a plane channel
We discuss an inertial migration of oblate spheroids in a plane channel,
where steady laminar flow is generated by a pressure gradient. Our lattice
Boltzmann simulations show that spheroids orient in the flow, so that their
minor axis coincides with the vorticity direction (a log-rolling motion).
Interestingly, for spheroids of moderate aspect ratios, the equilibrium
positions relative to the channel walls depend only on their equatorial radius
. By analysing the inertial lift force we argue that this force is
proportional to , where is the polar radius, and conclude that the
dimensionless lift coefficient of the oblate spheroid does not depend on ,
and is equal to that of the sphere of radius .Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure