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Updated: Jun 22, 2026
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Published on: May 5, 2022
Hydrodynamic interactions between two semiflexible inextensible filaments in Stokes flow
1Department of Mathematical Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA.
Summary
Hydrodynamic interactions significantly affect how semiflexible filaments buckle and move in fluids. Considering these interactions is crucial for understanding filament diffusion in complex flows.
Area of Science:
- Fluid dynamics
- Soft matter physics
- Biophysics
Background:
- Semiflexible filaments are ubiquitous in biological systems.
- Their motion in fluids is governed by complex hydrodynamic interactions.
- Understanding these interactions is key to predicting collective behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of hydrodynamic interactions on semiflexible filament buckling and motion.
- To analyze filament behavior in both linear shear and extensional flows.
- To assess the necessity of including hydrodynamic interactions in models of non-Brownian filament diffusion.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulations of two semiflexible inextensible filaments in Stokesian fluids.
- Analysis of filament dynamics under linear shear flow conditions.
- Examination of filament behavior near the stagnation point in extensional flow.
Main Results:
- Hydrodynamic interactions significantly influence filament buckling and subsequent motion.
- In shear flow, interactions cause filament shear dispersion dependent on aspect ratio and separation.
- In extensional flow, complex dynamics arise around the stagnation point.
Conclusions:
- Hydrodynamic interactions are critical for accurate modeling of semiflexible filament dynamics.
- These interactions must be considered for determining the self-diffusion of non-Brownian filaments.
- The findings have implications for understanding cellular flows and particle transport.
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