Low Reynolds Number Particle Dynamics

Abstract

The motion of rigid rod-like particles in a viscous micro fluidic channel flow has been analyzed. We derive equations of motion from a 3-dimensional dumbell model and show that they are equivalent to the well-known Jeffery equations. Experimental data shows a qualitative fit to the Jeffery theory, but we observe orbit drift indicating the presence of noise in the dynamics. Examples and numeri-cal simulations of such dynamics are presented. Future research prospects are presented in the form of a phase diagram to be explored. We propose that different theories describe the particle dynamics at high and low particle aspect ratio, as well as high and low noise levels. A background chapter provides an introduction to the field of microhydrodynamics and briefly reviews the literature.