Diffusion and spatial correlations in suspensions of swimming particles

Populations of swimming micro-organisms produce fluid motions that lead to dramatically enhanced diffusion of tracer particles. Using simulations of suspensions of swimming particles in a periodic domain, we capture this effect and show that it depends qualitatively on the mode of swimming: swimmers "pushed" from behind by their flagella show greater enhancement than swimmers that are "pulled" from the front. The difference is manifested by an increase, that only occurs for pushers, of the diffusivity of passive tracers and the velocity correlation length with the size of the periodic domain. A physical argument supported by a mean field theory sheds light on the origin of these effects.     

多分量胶体悬浮系统转动扩散张量的反射理论

研究多分量胶体悬浮系统的反射理论,给出用反射理论推导转动扩散张量的方法.计算了流体力学相互作用对转动扩散张量的二体贡献和首项三体贡献. 关键词： 反射理论 扩散 胶体悬浮系统 流体力学作用     

Diffusion of a chemically active colloidal particle in composite channels

Diffusion of colloidal particles in microchannels has been extensively investigated, where the channel wall is either a no-slip or a slip-passive boundary. However, in the context of active fluids, driving boundary walls are ubiquitous and are expected to have a substantial effect on the particle dynamics. By mesoscale simulations, we study the diffusion of a chemically active colloidal particle in composite channels, which are constructed by alternately arranging the no-slip and diffusio-osmotic boundary walls. In this case, the chemical reaction catalyzed by the active colloidal particle creates a local chemical gradient along the channel wall, which drives a diffusio-osmotic flow parallel to the wall. We show that the diffusio-osmotic flow can significantly change the spatial distribution and diffusion dynamics of the colloidal particle in the composite channels. By modulating the surface properties of the channel wall, we can achieve different patterns of colloidal position distribution. The findings thus propose a novel possibility to manipulate colloidal diffusion in microfluidics, and highlight the importance of driving boundary walls in dynamics of colloidal particles in microchannels.     

二分量带电胶体悬浮系统的等效硬球模型

研究由无限稀薄的靶粒子散布于有限浓度(体积分数为)的主粒子悬浮液中而组成的二分量带电胶体系统,计算了靶粒子的短时间平动和转动自扩散系数.当系统中的粒子浓度和电解质浓度都不太高时,只考虑流体力学相互作用对扩散张量的首项两体贡献.为了计算体系的对分布函数,在数值计算的基础上发展了一个等效硬球模型,近似地把主粒子和靶粒子看作等效半径为δEHS的相同硬球粒子.结果表明,靶粒子的自扩散系数随两种粒子尺寸比和主粒子体积分数变化的关系可以很好地用等效硬球模型来解释 关键词： 胶体悬浮系统 自扩散 等效硬球 流体力学作用 关联函数     

Dynamics in dense suspensions of charge-stabilized colloidal particles

The dynamic behavior of charge-stabilized colloidal particles in suspension was studied by photon correlation spectroscopy with coherent X-rays (XPCS). The short-time diffusion coefficient, D(Q) , was measured for volume concentrations φ ⩽ 0.18 and compared to the free particle diffusion constant D₀ and the static structure factor S(Q) . The data show that indirect, hydrodynamic interactions are relevant for the system and hydrodynamic functions were derived. The results are in striking contrast to the predictions of the PA (pairwise-additive approximation) model, but show features typical for a hard-sphere system. The observed mobility is however considerably smaller than the one of a respective hard-sphere system. The hydrodynamic functions can be modelled quantitatively if one allows for an increased effective viscosity relative to the hard-sphere case.     

Gravitational stability of suspensions of attractive colloidal particles

Colloidal suspensions are susceptible to gravitationally induced phase separation. This can be mitigated by the formation of a particle network caused by depletion attraction. The effectiveness of this network in supporting the buoyant weight of the suspension can be characterized by its compressional modulus. We measure the compressional modulus for emulsion networks induced by depletion attraction and present a model that quantitatively predicts their gravitational stability. We also determine the relationship between the strength of the depletion attraction and the magnitude of the compressional modulus.     

Sedimentation of homogeneous suspensions in finite vessels

The question of a possible container shape dependence of the sedimentation velocity in a homogeneous suspension is reexamined. To this end we develop a statistical theory of suspensions based on low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamics of spherical particles in a container. It is shown, to first order in the volume fraction, that in an arbitrary vessel the relative sedimentation velocity is shape independent, but that at the same time shape-dependent convection occurs. The theory forms a bridge between earlier calculations for special geometries by Beenakker and Mazur and a phenomenological theory recently proposed by Nozières.This paper is dedicated to N. G. van Kampen.     

Transport and collective dynamics in suspensions of confined swimming particles

Direct simulations of large populations of confined hydrodynamically interacting swimming particles at low Reynolds number are performed. Hydrodynamic coupling between the swimmers leads to large-scale coherent vortex motions in the flow and regimes of anomalous diffusion that are consistent with experimental observations. At low concentrations, swimmers propelled from behind (like spermatazoa) strongly migrate toward solid surfaces in agreement with simple theoretical considerations; at higher concentrations this localization is disrupted by the large-scale coherent motions.     

A Lattice-Boltzmann model for suspensions of self-propelling colloidal particles

We present a Lattice-Boltzmann method for simulating self-propelling (active) colloidal particles in two dimensions. Active particles with symmetric and asymmetric force distribution on their surface are considered. The velocity field generated by a single active particle, changing its orientation randomly, and the different time scales involved are characterized in detail. The steady-state speed distribution in the fluid, resulting from the activity, is shown to deviate considerably from the equilibrium distribution.     

Effects of unsymmetrical geometric confinements on depletion interactions in colloidal suspensions

The depletion interactions between two large-spheres immersed in a fluid of small spheres under unsymmetrical geometrical confinement are studied through the acceptance ratio method. The numerical results show that no matter whether the volume fraction is large or small, both the depletion potential and depletion force are affected by the presence of the two plates; the closer the two large spheres are to the plate, the larger the effects of the unsymmetrical confinements.     

Note on transport processes in dense colloidal suspensions

A new approach to transport processes in dense charged as well as neutral colloidal suspensions is presented. It is based on a far-reaching analogy between dense colloidal suspensions and dense hard-sphere fluids, implying, in turn, an analogy with atomic liquids. As a result, new expressions valid for a number of colloidal transport coefficients are predicted.     

电解质对浓悬浮液中胶体颗粒扩散特性的影响

本文利用相位调制光纤低相干动态光散射装置, 研究了不同物质量浓度下电解质 (NaCl及 BaCl₂) 对浓悬浮液中聚苯乙烯胶体颗粒扩散特性的影响. 实验结果表明, 当电解质浓度低于0.01 mol/L 时, 恒温条件下浓悬浮液中聚苯乙烯胶体颗粒扩散系数随电解质离子浓度以及离子化合价的增大而增大, 实验测量得到的扩散系数与Stern模型所得到的扩散系数符合较好. 关键词： 测量 电解质 浓悬浮液 低相干动态光散射     

Effective interactions between colloidal particles suspended in a bath of swimming cells

The dynamics of passive colloidal tracers in a bath of self-propelled particles is receiving a lot of attention in the context of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. Here we demonstrate that active baths are also capable of mediating effective interactions between suspended bodies. In particular we observe that a bath of swimming bacteria gives rise to a short range attraction similar to depletion forces in equilibrium colloidal suspensions. Using numerical simulations and experiments we show how the features of this interaction arise from the combination of nonequilibrium dynamics (peculiar of bacterial baths) and excluded volume effects.     

Exact Tracer Diffusion Coefficient in the Asymmetric Random Average Process

We study tracer diffusion in the continuous-time asymmetric random average process which is an interacting particle system on generalizing the Hammersley process. From the equations of motion for the particle-position correlations we obtain the exact tracer diffusion coefficient which is in agreement with a recent heuristic result by Krug and Garcia.     

Diffusion of interacting particles in one-dimensional heterogeneous systems

The equilibrium and transport properties of interacting ad-particles on bivariate heterogeneous chains are studied by combining analytical and simulation approaches. Heterogeneity is introduced in the way of patches of shallow and deep adsorbing sites distributed in a deterministic alternating way. Adsorption isotherms and mean-square fluctuations of the surface coverage, as well as the jump and collective diffusion coefficients, are calculated for different values of lateral interactions between ad-particles and substrate heterogeneity. In addition, different elementary jump mechanisms are introduced and their influence in the coverage dependence of the collective diffusion coefficient is investigated.     

Diffusion of oriented particles in porous media

Diffusion of particles in porous media often shows subdiffusive behavior. Here, we analyze the dynamics of particles exhibiting an orientation. The features we focus on are geometrical restrictions and the dynamical consequences of the interactions between the local surrounding structure and the particle orientation. This interaction can lead to particles getting temporarily stuck in parts of the structure. Modeling this interaction by a particular random walk dynamics on fractal structures we find that the random walk dimension is not affected while the diffusion constant shows a variety of interesting and surprising features.