Fractionation of polydisperse colloid with acousto-optically generated potential energy landscapes

The motion of colloidal particles on a periodic optical potential energy landscape in the presence of an external driving force may result in particle separation. In contrast to recent methods of holographic or interferometric generation of such landscapes, we use an acousto-optic deflector to create two-dimensional landscapes. We present what is believed to be the first experimental realization of fractionation with simultaneous sorting of four different sizes of colloidal microparticle into laterally separated parallel laminar streams.     

Current transport and mass separation for an asymmetric fluctuation system with correlated noises

We discuss the transport of an underdamped particle driven by an external fluctuation force in a spatially periodic asymmetric potential with correlated noises. The corresponding mathematical model is established. The movement of the steady current of an underdamped particle is presented by the method of the numerical simulation. It is indicated that the value of the current may be negative, zero, or positive. The external fluctuation force and correlated noises can effect the current direction. Under the appropriate parameters, the correlated noises intensity may even raise a reversal of the current.Besides, we have noticed a phenomenon that particles with different weight have different directions during movement by the impact of the correlated noises and external fluctuation force. Therefore, the Brownian particles can be effectively separated according to their masses.     

Colloids in light fields: Particle dynamics in random and periodic energy landscapes

The dynamics of colloidal particles in potential energy landscapes have mainly been investigated theoretically. In contrast, here we discuss the experimental realization of potential energy landscapes with the help of laser light fields and the observation of the particle dynamics by video microscopy. The experimentally observed dynamics in periodic and random potentials are compared to simulation and theoretical results in terms of, e.g. the mean-squared displacement, the time-dependent diffusion coefficient or the non-Gaussian parameter. The dynamics are initially diffusive followed by intermediate subdiffusive behaviour which again becomes diffusive at long times. How pronounced and extended the different regimes are, depends on the specific conditions, in particular the shape of the potential as well as its roughness or amplitude but also the particle concentration. Here we focus on dilute systems, but the dynamics of interacting systems in external potentials, and thus the interplay between particle-particle and particle-potential interactions, are also mentioned briefly. Furthermore, the observed dynamics of dilute systems resemble the dynamics of concentrated systems close to their glass transition, with which it is compared. The effect of certain potential energy landscapes on the dynamics of individual particles appears similar to the effect of interparticle interactions in the absence of an external potential.     

On the vortex formation at the moving front of lightweight granular particles

The formation of vortices at a moving front of lightweight granular particles is investigated experimentally. The particles used in this study are made of polystyrene foam with three different diameters of nearly uniform size. Pairs of vortices are found to emerge at the moving front at regular intervals, thereby forming a wavy pattern. Once the vortices are produced, the flow velocity tends to increase. A simple analysis suggests the existence of a velocity boundary layer at the moving front, whose thickness increases with increasing particle diameter. The frontal radius of each vortex pair is about the size of this boundary layer; when the radius exceeds this size, the front tends to bifurcate into a train of vortices with the size of the boundary layer. The formation of twin vortices leads to a reduction in the air drag force exerted on the system, and thereby the system attains a higher flow velocity, i.e., a higher conversion rate of gravitational potential energy to the kinetic energy of the particle motion. The higher conversion rate of potential energy thus feeds back to the development of the vortex motion, resulting in the twin vortex formation.     

Incorporation of smooth spherical bodies in the Lattice Boltzmann method

A method to simulate bodies suspended in a Lattice Boltzmann solvent is proposed. It is based on a generalized reaction force that enforces no-slip boundary conditions at the fluid–body interface as the limiting case of an iterative procedure. A smooth version of the Heaviside function allows to treat spherical particles of arbitrary size and produces smooth hydrodynamic forces as particles move in the continuum. Numerical tests demonstrate the accuracy of the method in reproducing the hydrodynamic field around a single particle and the fluid-mediated forces between pairs of particles. The drag force experienced by a particle moving in a straight channel and at various Reynolds numbers is studied as a non-trivial testcase.     

用脉冲激光全息术测量喷雾场中粒子的分布和运动速度

本文叙述了用脉冲激光全息术测量喷雾场中粒子的分布和运动速度的原理，阐明了同轴全息和离轴全息在测量雾场的应用范围，重点讨论了离轴全息。测量光学系统是４Ｆ系统，它可以测量粒子浓度大的雾场中大于５μｍ的粒子分布和运动速度。在平行光场区段，可进行不同装置、不同景深的喷雾研究，使每个粒子具有相同的放大倍数，它给再现、数据处理、粒子大小的标定都有很大的好处。文中还分析了在底片上形成干涉的各种情况；粒子直径ｄ，远场数Ｎ和从底片到粒子的距离Ｚ的关系。给出脉冲间隔为５μｓ；１０μｓ粗度为±０．１μｓ时不同直径粒子的分布和运动速度在电视屏幕上显示出来的照片。在上述实验结果的基础上讨论了粒子的识别，噪音的消除等问题。     

Electrophoretic mobility without charge driven by polarisation of the nanoparticle–water interface

Polarisation of the interface, spontaneously occurring when water is in contact with hydrophobic solutes or air, couples with the uniform external field to produce a non-zero force acting on a suspended particle. This force exists even in the absence of a net particle charge, and its direction is affected by the first-order, dipolar and the second-order, qudrupolar orientational order parameters of the interfacial water. The quadrupolar polarisation gives rise to an effectively negative charge. The corresponding surface charge density is inversely proportional to the area of the shear surface. As a result, the overall contribution from the quadrupolar polarisation to the particle mobility becomes negligible compared to experimentally reported values for particles exceeding a few nanometres in size. In contrast, the contribution of the dipolar order of the interface to the effective surface charge scales inversely with the particle size and dominates the zero-charge mobility of submicron particles. The corresponding electrokinetic charge is determined by the preferential orientation of interfacial dipoles relative to the surface normal.     

驻波声场中圆柱形管道周围颗粒的运动特性

针对圆柱形管道外部的流体与颗粒介质运动问题,提出了结合圆柱周围声辐射力和声流Stokes力的研究方法。从柱体外部声流方程出发,得到影响涡流结构的无量纲参数Rem≥325.27时,外涡最大流速大于内涡最大流速。在此基础上,采用Nyborg的边界滑移速度理论,获得管道外部声流的极限滑移速度,推导得出圆柱附近的声辐射力公式。基于此公式,在理论上推导出颗粒速度为0、声辐射力和声流Stokes力平衡时,颗粒临界直径的表达式。通过对圆柱位于不同位置时,圆柱外部的颗粒运动进行仿真模拟,得到与理论公式相一致的结论:颗粒的临界直径的大小与声波频率有关,当颗粒直径小于临界直径时,声流Stokes力为主导,颗粒随声流运动,颗粒直径大于等于临界直径时,声辐射力为主导,颗粒在声辐射力作用下逐渐向声辐射力的节点聚集。理论与仿真结果表明该方法可用于分析管道外颗粒的分布状态,其研究结果有助于解决电站中换热器的管道结垢、热交换率降低等问题。     

Brownian pump with an unbiased external force

We investigate Brownian pump transport in the presence of an unbiased external force. The pumping system is embedded in a finite region bounded by two particle reservoirs. In the adiabatic limit, we obtain the analytical expressions of the current and the concentration ratio. We find that Brownian particles can be pumped through an asymmetric potential from a particle reservoir at low concentration to one at the same or higher concentration in the presence of an unbiased external force.      

非线性晶体产生的空心光束中大尺寸粒子囚禁与导引

提出了一种基于非线性ZnSe晶体产生的空心光束与光泳力的大尺寸粒子二维囚禁与一维导引、三维囚禁方案.理论上分析并计算了单个非线性ZnSe晶体产生的空心光束内粒子受到的横向与纵向光泳力,纵向光泳力的大小同粒子尺寸与光束尺寸比例的四次方成正比,与空心光束功率成正比,方向与光束传播方向一致.粒子尺寸与空心光束尺寸越接近时,横向光泳力的大小越大.结果表明该光泳力可以实现对大尺寸粒子的二维囚禁,同时可对粒子进行长距离(米量级)一维定向导引;理论上分析并计算了基于双非线性ZnSe晶体产生的局域空心光束内粒子所受横向与纵向光泳力情况,光泳力与系统参数的依赖关系与单个非线性晶体产生的空心光束中的粒子受力情况类似,不同的是该条件下纵向光泳力指向光束中心.结果表明该局域空心光束可以实现大尺寸粒子的三维有效囚禁.基于非线性ZnSe晶体产生的空心光束或者局域空心光束可以作为大尺寸粒子非接触式有效操控的工具,在现代光学以及生物医学中有潜在的应用.     

Mobility in a periodic potential: A simple derivation

A simple derivation is given for the mobility of Brownian particles in a periodic potential in the overdamped regime. The method makes use of the fact that the steady state current density, in response to a uniform external force, is uniform in space and can be expressed as a product of the particle density and mean velocity field. To lowest order in the external force, the particle density is given by the equilibrium density in the absence of the external force.     

A Solvable Many-Body Problem in the Plane

Abstract

A solvable many-body problem in the plane is exhibited. It is characterized by rotation-invariant Newtonian (“acceleration equal force”) equations of motion, featuring one-body (“external”) and pair (“interparticle”) forces. The former depend quadratically on the velocity, and nonlinearly on the coordinate, of the moving particle. The latter depend linearly on the coordinate of the moving particle, and linearly respectively nonlinearly on the velocity respectively the coordinate of the other particle. The model contains 2n ² arbitrary coupling constants, n being the number of particles. The behaviour of the solutions is outlined; special cases in which the motion is confined (multiply periodic), or even completely periodic, are identified.     

细颗粒间相互作用力的研究

对微米、近亚微米尺度的细颗粒间相互作用过程的显微观察发现,细颗粒间具有"吸引-旋绕-排斥"的相互作用行为.受力分析表明,包含范德华力、静电库仑力和电像力的传统颗粒间作用力模型不能解释这种相互作用行为.根据细颗粒的荷电特性,提出细颗粒间还具有诱导偶极子作用力.通过引入偶极子作用力改进了细颗粒间作用力模型,利用新的模型对细颗粒间相互作用进行了模拟,得到了和实验相同的相互作用行为,并且对影响细颗粒相互作用的参数进行了分析.提出投入大颗粒和增加外静电场等都是促进颗粒凝并的有效措施.     

Effects of boundaries on structure formation in low-dimensional colloid model systems near the liquid-solid-transition in equilibrium and in external fields and under shear

A brief review focusing on low-dimensional colloidal model systems is given describing both simulation studies and complementary experiments, elucidating the interplay between phase behavior, geometric structures, and transport phenomena. These studies address the response of these very soft colloidal systems to perturbations such as uniform or uniaxial compression, laser fields, randomly quenched disorder, and shear deformation caused by moving boundaries. Binary hard-disk mixtures are studied by Monte Carlo simulation, to investigate ordering on surfaces or in monolayers, modeling the effect of a substrate by an external potential. By weak external laser fields the miscibility of the mixture can be controlled, and the underlying mechanism (laser-induced demixing) is clarified. The stability of various space-filling structures is discussed only for the case where no laser fields are present.Hard spheres interacting with repulsive screened Coulomb or dipolar interaction confined in 2D and 3D narrow constrictions are investigated by Brownian Dynamics simulation. With respect to the structural behavior, it is found that layers or planes throughout the microchannel are formed. The arrangement of the particles is disturbed by diffusion, and can also be modified by an external driving force causing a density gradient along the channel. Then the number of layers or planes gets reduced, adjusting to the density gradient, and this self-organized change of order also shows up in the particle velocities. The experimental work that is reviewed here addresses dipolar colloidal particles confined by gravity on a solid substrate on which a set of pinning sites has been randomly distributed. The dynamics of the system is studied by tracking the trajectories of individual particles, and it is found that the mean square displacements of particles that are nearest neighbors of pinned particles are strongly affected by these defects. The influence of the pinning sites on the order and microscopic mechanism of phase transitions in two dimensions is investigated.     

激光熔覆中金属粉末粒子与激光相互作用模型

为了对同轴激光熔覆过程中运动的金属粉末粒子的速度和温度进行理论分析,并研究各工艺参量的影响,建立了运动中金属粉末粒子的运动模型和热模型.模拟结果表明,粉嘴几何尺寸、粒子直径以及气/粉两相流初始速度是影响粒子运动行为的重要因素;粉嘴几何尺寸、激光焦点位置、激光发散角、激光功率、粒子直径以及气/粉两相流初始速度是影响粒子热行为的重要因素.在相同的工艺参量下(粉嘴出口内径r=2 mm,粉嘴倾角α=60°,初始气流速度v0=0.8 m/s),基于数字粒子图像测速(DPIV)技术,对316L不锈钢粉末粒子运动模型进行了实验验证.结果表明,运动理论模型是可靠的.该模型是掌握同轴激光熔覆过程中金属粉末粒子运动行为的有效工具;同时,热模型也是分析粉末粒子温度随不同参量变化的重要工具.     

驻波声场中单分散细颗粒的相互作用特性

利用外加声场促进悬浮在气相中的细颗粒发生相互作用,进而引起颗粒的碰撞和凝并,使得颗粒平均粒径增大、数目浓度降低,是控制细颗粒排放的重要技术途径.为探究驻波声场中单分散细颗粒的相互作用,建立包含曳力、重力、声尾流效应的颗粒相互作用模型,采用四阶经典龙格-库塔算法和二阶隐式亚当斯插值算法对模型进行求解.将数值模拟得到的颗粒声波夹带速度和相互作用过程与相应的解析解和实验结果进行对比,验证模型的准确性.进而研究颗粒初始条件和直径对相互作用特性的影响.结果表明,初始时刻颗粒中心连线越接近声波波动方向、颗粒位置越接近波腹点,颗粒间的声尾流效应就越强,颗粒发生碰撞所需要的时间就越短.研究还发现,颗粒直径对颗粒相互作用的影响取决于初始时刻颗粒中心连线偏离声波波动方向的程度.当偏离较小时,颗粒直径越大,颗粒发生碰撞所需要的时间越短;当偏离很大时,直径较小的颗粒能够发生碰撞,而直径较大的颗粒则无法发生碰撞.     

Particle-size sorting system of lunar regolith using electrostatic traveling wave

A particle-size sorting system of lunar regolith using an electrostatic traveling wave is developed for In-Situ Resource Utilization on the Moon to extract indispensable resources from the regolith and realize long-term exploration. The regolith is sorted by utilizing a balance between the electrostatic and gravitational forces, which are determined depending on particle size, in vacuum conditions where the particles are not subjected to air drag. In this study, the effect of particle charge on the particle motion is confirmed by conducting model experiments and numerical calculations based on the distinct element method. In addition, it was experimentally demonstrated that particles less than approximately 20 μm in diameter were efficiently separated from the bulk of a lunar regolith simulant FJS-1 in a vacuum condition (∼1.5 × 10⁻² Pa), and the performance of the size sorting system on the Moon was predicted by the numerical calculations. The system utilizes only the electrostatic force, and it does not require any gas, liquid, or mechanical moving parts.     

Simulating percolating behavior of conductive particles in anisotropically conductive composite films

A numerical scheme is developed to simulate the percolating behavior of conductive particles within a non-conductive matrix film with a preferential alignment of particles achieved via externally imposed deterministic driving forces. The sharp transition from non-conducting to conducting of the composite film is successfully revealed with the model. The percolation behavior is studied in terms of four percolation parameters, including the percolation probability, the normalized shortest percolation path, normalized gyration radius and density of the percolation cluster, subject to variation in five important system parameters. These include particle concentration, relative importance of the externally applied force, film thickness, film width and particle size. The threshold particle concentration can be reduced by increasing the strength of the deterministic driving force, decreasing film thickness, increasing film width or using smaller size particles. Our study suggests that using stronger applied force for wider and thinner films containing smaller particles may be a good practice to obtain anisotropically conductive films with a light particle loading that possess good conduction capability in the thickness direction and good insulation in the planar direction. Received: 19 February 2001 / Accepted: 30 May 2001 / Published online: 30 August 2001     

Current reversal and mass separation of inertial Brownian motors in a two-noise ratchet

Transport of an inertial Brownian motor moving in an asymmetric periodic potential driven by an external force and correlated noises is investigated. Using the numerical algorithm, the asymptotic mean velocity (AMV) for characterizing directed transport is obtained. The effects of the external driving force f and the correlation λ between the two noises on the AMV are discussed. The results manifest: (1) the external driving force and the correlation between the two noises can lead to the phenomena like current reversal. (2) The competitions among the external driving force and the correlation between the two noises are necessary for current reversal, i.e., fλ>0. (3) Different directions of transport are found for different masses of the Brownian particles under the condition fλ>0. Therefore a theoretical study is suggested for separating Brownian particles according to their different masses in the ratchet system.