Computer simulations of colloidal particles under flow in microfluidic channels

Category: Scientific Highlights

A ViCoM publication on the cover of "Soft Matter" by Arash Nikoubashman, Christos N. Likos and Gerhard Kahl.

Using a simulation scheme that correctly accounts for hydrodynamic
interactions, we have studied the propagation of a single buoyant
rigid sphere under pressure driven Poiseuille flow at low-Reynolds
number conditions. Particular emphasis was put on the flow of these
tracer particles (transparent spheres in the cover graphics) through a
hexagonal array of cylindrical obstacles, whose axis lies parallel to
the gradient-vorticity plane of the flow. These obstacles are
responsible for a significant slowdown of the tracer particles whose
velocities respond in a highly non-linear way to an increasing
pressure drop.

 

Nikoubashman A., Likos C.N., Kahl G. (2013), Computer simulations of colloidal particles under flow in microfluidic channels, Soft Matter 9, 2603–2613. DOI:10.1039/C2SM26727F, link

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