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Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Studying Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear Response of Soft Materials
Published on: April 25, 2019
Shape oscillations of elastic particles in shear flow
Dhananjay Radhakrishnan Subramaniam1, David J Gee2
1Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA.
This study simulates elastic particle deformation in fluid flow, revealing distinct motion patterns like tank-treading and tumbling/trembling. These findings validate models for physiological flow calculations in medical technology.
Area of Science:
- Fluid dynamics
- Biophysics
- Computational mechanics
Background:
- Particle suspensions, such as blood cells, are integral to biological fluid flows.
- Medical technology utilizes membrane-bounded capsules for drug delivery via microcirculation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the time-dependent deformation and motion of 3D linear elastic particles in Newtonian fluid under shear flow.
- To analyze the influence of particle shape and flow conditions on particle dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulation using a boundary element technique.
- Analysis of initially spherical and spheroidal particles in bounded linear shear flow.
Main Results:
- Initially spherical particles exhibit a 'tank-treading' motion at steady-state.
- Spheroidal particles show modified Jeffrey's orbits, with trajectory periods inversely related to shear flow strength.
- Particle motion transitions between 'tumbling' and 'trembling' modes based on aspect ratio and capillary number.
Conclusions:
- The study validates the use of a simple elastic constitutive model for physiological flow calculations.
- Observed oscillatory modes align with experimental data for similar vesicles, confirming model relevance.
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