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Quantification of mixing in vesicle suspensions using numerical simulations in two dimensions
G Kabacaoğlu1, B Quaife2, G Biros
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
Physics of Fluids (Woodbury, N.Y. : 1994)
|March 28, 2017
Summary
In Stokesian vesicle suspensions, mixing is generally suppressed by vesicles. However, vesicles can enhance mixing for specific solute distributions where simple fluid flow fails.
Area of Science:
- Fluid dynamics
- Soft matter physics
- Computational physics
Background:
- Vesicle suspensions are complex fluids with unique transport properties.
- Understanding solute mixing is crucial for applications in microfluidics and biological systems.
- Stokesian dynamics and advection-diffusion are key phenomena in such systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of vesicle presence on solute mixing in a two-dimensional cylindrical Couette flow.
- To analyze the influence of parameters like area fraction and viscosity contrast on mixing efficiency.
- To identify conditions under which vesicles can promote mixing where simple flow fails.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulations of vesicle suspensions using a boundary integral method.
- Solving the advection-diffusion equation for solute transport with a pseudo-spectral scheme.
- Systematic variation of vesicle area fraction, viscosity contrast, and initial solute conditions.
Main Results:
- Vesicles generally suppress mixing due to limited advection across their interfaces.
- Specific initial solute distributions lead to enhanced mixing in vesicle suspensions compared to pure fluid.
- A condition relating fluid velocity and solute distribution determines whether vesicles promote or suppress mixing.
Conclusions:
- The presence of vesicles has a dual effect on mixing in Stokesian suspensions.
- Vesicles can act as mixing enhancers in specific scenarios, overcoming limitations of simple shear flow.
- Further research can explore these findings for targeted applications in fluid transport and mixing.
