189 research outputs found
Direct numerical simulations for non-Newtonian rheology of concentrated particle dispersions
The non-Newtonian behavior of a monodisperse concentrated dispersion of
spherical particles was investigated using a direct numerical simulation
method, that takes into account hydrodynamic interactions and thermal
fluctuations accurately. Simulations were performed under steady shear flow
with periodic boundary conditions in the three directions. The apparent shear
viscosity of the dispersions was calculated at volume fractions ranging from
0.31 to 0.56. Shear-thinning behavior was clearly observed at high volume
fractions. The low- and high-limiting viscosities were then estimated from the
apparent viscosity by fitting these data into a semi-empirical formula.
Furthermore, the short-time motions were examined for Brownian particles
fluctuating in concentrated dispersions, for which the fluid inertia plays an
important role. The mean square displacement was monitored in the vorticity
direction at several different Peclet numbers and volume fractions so that the
particle diffusion coefficient is determined from the long-time behavior of the
mean square displacement. Finally, the relationship between the non-Newtonian
viscosity of the dispersions and the structural relaxation of the dispersed
Brownian particles is examined
The Minimum Total Mass of MACHOs and Halo Models of the Galaxy
If the density distribution \rho (r) of MACHOs is spherically symmetric with
respect to the Galactic center, it is shown that the minimal total mass
M_{min}^{{ MACHO}} of the MACHOs is 1.7\times 10^{10}\sol \tau_{-6.7}^{{ LMC}}
where \tau_{-6.7}^{{ LMC}} is the optical depth (\tau^{{ LMC}}) toward the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in the unit of 2\times 10^{-7}. If \rho (r) is a
decreasing function of r, it is proved that M_{min}^{{ MACHO}} is 5.6\times
10^{10}\sol \tau_{-6.7}^{{ LMC}}. Several spherical and axially symmetric halo
models of the Galaxy with a few free parameters are also considered. It is
found that M_{min}^{{ MACHO}} ranges from 5.6\times 10^{10}\sol \tau_{-6.7}^{{
LMC}} to \sim 3 \times 10^{11}\sol \tau_{-6.7}^{{ LMC}}. For general case, the
minimal column density \Sigma_{min}^{{ MACHO}} of MACHOs is obtained as
\Sigma_{min}^{{ MACHO}} =25 \sol { pc}^{-2}\tau_{-6.7}^{{ LMC}}. If the clump
of MACHOs exist only halfway between LMC and the sun, M_{min}^{{ MACHO}} is
1.5\times 10^9\sol. This shows that the total mass of MACHOs is smaller than 5
\times 10^{10}\sol , i.e. \sim 10\% of the mass of the halo inside LMC, either
if the density distribution of MACHOs is unusual or \tau^{{ LMC}}\ll 2\times
10^{-7}.Comment: 5 pages, 5 Encapsulated PostScript figures, Latex, Accepted for
publication in Apj. Letter
A Simulation Method to Resolve Hydrodynamic Interactions in Colloidal Dispersions
A new computational method is presented to resolve hydrodynamic interactions
acting on solid particles immersed in incompressible host fluids. In this
method, boundaries between solid particles and host fluids are replaced with a
continuous interface by assuming a smoothed profile. This enabled us to
calculate hydrodynamic interactions both efficiently and accurately, without
neglecting many-body interactions. The validity of the method was tested by
calculating the drag force acting on a single cylindrical rod moving in an
incompressible Newtonian fluid. This method was then applied in order to
simulate sedimentation process of colloidal dispersions.Comment: 7pages, 7 figure
Direct Numerical Simulations of Electrophoresis of Charged Colloids
We propose a numerical method to simulate electrohydrodynamic phenomena in
charged colloidal dispersions. This method enables us to compute the time
evolutions of colloidal particles, ions, and host fluids simultaneously by
solving Newton, advection-diffusion, and Navier--Stokes equations so that the
electrohydrodynamic couplings can be fully taken into account. The
electrophoretic mobilities of charged spherical particles are calculated in
several situations. The comparisons with approximation theories show
quantitative agreements for dilute dispersions without any empirical
parameters, however, our simulation predicts notable deviations in the case of
dense dispersions.Comment: 4pages, 3figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Multiscale modeling and simulation for polymer melt flows between parallel plates
The flow behaviors of polymer melt composed of short chains with ten beads
between parallel plates are simulated by using a hybrid method of molecular
dynamics and computational fluid dynamics. Three problems are solved: creep
motion under a constant shear stress and its recovery motion after removing the
stress, pressure-driven flows, and the flows in rapidly oscillating plates. In
the creep/recovery problem, the delayed elastic deformation in the creep motion
and evident elastic behavior in the recovery motion are demonstrated. The
velocity profiles of the melt in pressure-driven flows are quite different from
those of Newtonian fluid due to shear thinning. Velocity gradients of the melt
become steeper near the plates and flatter at the middle between the plates as
the pressure gradient increases and the temperature decreases. In the rapidly
oscillating plates, the viscous boundary layer of the melt is much thinner than
that of Newtonian fluid due to the shear thinning of the melt. Three different
rheological regimes, i.e., the viscous fluid, visco-elastic liquid, and
visco-elastic solid regimes, form over the oscillating plate according to the
local Deborah numbers. The melt behaves as a viscous fluid in a region for
, and the crossover between the liquid-like and
solid-like regime takes place around (where
is the angular frequency of the plate and and
are Rouse and relaxation time, respectively).Comment: 13pages, 12figure
Mechanism of Magnetic Flux Loss in Molecular Clouds
We investigate the detailed processes working in the drift of magnetic fields
in molecular clouds. To the frictional force, whereby the magnetic force is
transmitted to neutral molecules, ions contribute more than half only at cloud
densities , and charged grains contribute more
than 90% at . Thus grains play a decisive role
in the process of magnetic flux loss. Approximating the flux loss time by
a power law , where is the mean field strength in
the cloud, we find , characteristic to ambipolar diffusion,
only at . At higher densities,
decreases steeply with , and finally at , where magnetic fields
effectively decouple from the gas, is attained, reminiscent of
Ohmic dissipation, though flux loss occurs about 10 times faster than by Ohmic
dissipation. Ohmic dissipation is dominant only at . While ions and electrons drift in the direction of
magnetic force at all densities, grains of opposite charges drift in opposite
directions at high densities, where grains are major contributors to the
frictional force. Although magnetic flux loss occurs significantly faster than
by Ohmic dissipation even at very high densities as , the process going on at high densities is quite different from ambipolar
diffusion in which particles of opposite charges are supposed to drift as one
unit.Comment: 34 pages including 9 postscript figures, LaTex, accepted by
Astrophysical Journal (vol.573, No.1, July 1, 2002
Synaptically activated burst-generating conductances may underlie a group-pacemaker mechanism for respiratory rhythm generation in mammals
Breathing, chewing, and walking are critical life-sustaining behaviors in mammals that consist essentially of simple rhythmic movements. Breathing movements in particular involve the diaphragm, thorax, and airways but emanate from a network in the lower brain stem. This network can be studied in reduced preparations in vitro and using simplified mathematical models that make testable predictions. An iterative approach that employs both in vitro and in silico models argues against canonical mechanisms for respiratory rhythm in neonatal rodents that involve reciprocal inhibition and pacemaker properties. We present an alternative model in which emergent network properties play a rhythmogenic role. Specifically, we show evidence that synaptically activated burst-generating conductances-which are only available in the context of network activity-engender robust periodic bursts in respiratory neurons. Because the cellular burst-generating mechanism is linked to network synaptic drive we dub this type of system a group pacemaker. © 2010 Elsevier B.V
Apparent finite-size effects in the dynamics of supercooled liquids
Molecular dynamics simulations are performed for a supercooled simple liquid
with changing the system size from N=108 to to examine possible
finite-size effects. Although almost no systematic deviation is detected in the
static pair correlation functions, it is demonstrated that the structural
relaxation in a small system becomes considerably slower than that in
larger systems for temperatures below at which the size of the
cooperative particle motions becomes comparable to the unit cell length of the
small system. The discrepancy increases with decreasing temperature.Comment: 4 pages 5 figure
Heterogeneous Diffusion in Highly Supercooled Liquids
The diffusivity of tagged particles is demonstrated to be very heterogeneous
on time scales comparable to or shorter than the relaxation time
( the stress relaxation time) in a highly supercooled
liquid via 3D molecular dynamics simulation. The particle motions in the
relatively active regions dominantly contribute to the mean square
displacement, giving rise to a diffusion constant systematically larger than
the Einstein-Stokes value. The van Hove self-correlation function is
shown to have a long distance tail which can be scaled in terms of
for t \ls 3\tau_{\alpha}. Its presence indicates heterogeneous diffusion in
the active regions. However, the diffusion process eventually becomes
homogeneous on time scales longer than the life time of the heterogeneity
structure ().Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
A Smooth Interface Method for Simulating Liquid Crystal Colloid Dispersions
A new method is presented for mesoscopic simulations of particle dispersions
in liquid crystal solvents. It allows efficient first-principle simulations of
the dispersions involving many particles with many-body interactions mediated
by the solvents. Demonstrations have been performed for the aggregation of
colloid dispersions in two-dimensional nematic and smectic-C* solvents
neglecting hydrodynamic effects, which will be taken into account in the near
future.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
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