Anisotropic stokes drag and dynamic lift on cylindrical colloids in a nematic liquid crystal

We have measured the Stokes drag on magnetic nanowires suspended in the nematic liquid crystal 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB). The effective drag viscosity for wires moving perpendicular to the nematic director differs from that for motion parallel to the director by factors of 0.88 to 2.4, depending on the orientation of the wires and their surface anchoring. When the force on the wires is applied at an oblique angle to the director, the wires move at an angle to the force, demonstrating the existence of a lift force on particles moving in a nematic. This dynamic lift is significantly larger for wires with homeotropic anchoring than with longitudinal anchoring in the experiments, suggesting the lift force as a mechanism for sorting particles according to their surface properties.     

Orientational coupling amplification in ferroelectric nematic colloids

We investigated the physical properties of low concentration ferroelectric nematic colloids, using calorimetry, optical methods, infrared spectroscopy, and capacitance studies. The resulting homogeneous colloids possess a significantly amplified nematic orientational coupling. We find that the nematic orientation coupling increases by approximately 10% for particle concentrations of 0.2%. A manifestation of the increased orientational order is that the clearing temperature of a nematic colloid increases by up to 40 degrees C compared to the pure liquid crystal host. A theoretical model is proposed in which the ferroelectric particles induce local dipoles whose effective interaction is proportional to the square of the orientational order parameter.     

Effective interactions of colloids on nematic films

The elastic and capillary interactions between a pair of colloidal particles trapped on top of a nematic film are studied theoretically for large separations d. The elastic interaction is repulsive and of quadrupolar type, varying as d^-5. For macroscopically thick films, the capillary interaction is likewise repulsive and proportional to d^-5 as a consequence of mechanical isolation of the system comprised of the colloids and the interface. A finite film thickness introduces a nonvanishing force on the system (exerted by the substrate supporting the film) leading to logarithmically varying capillary attractions. However, their strength turns out to be too small to be of importance for the recently observed pattern formation of colloidal droplets on nematic films.     

Spatially modulated structures in nematic colloids: Statistical thermodynamics and kinetics

We examine the spatial distribution of rigid-sphere-like particles in a nematic host. Using a continuum model we analyse the conditions necessary for the appearance of a modulated lamellar structure. There is a long-range effective interaction between the particles, which can lead to the formation of superstructures. In general, this interaction includes several contributions: van der Waals-type direct interaction and indirect interaction via the director field distortions. The latter depends on the temperature of the sample, the coupling energy between a colloidal particle and a nematic host, and the particle concentration. This effective interaction controls the spatial structure and the kinetic properties of the system. We obtained the analytical expression for the temperature when the system loses the stability with respect to the modulated structure formation. Typical contours of the diffuse light scattering are presented.     

2D interactions and binary crystals of dipolar and quadrupolar nematic colloids

In this Letter, we demonstrate that the symmetry of the elastic interaction between the dipolar and quadrupolar colloidal particles in the nematic liquid crystal leads to a novel variety of 2D nematic "binary" colloidal crystals, which have not been observed in any colloidal system. The dipolar-quadrupolar interaction is highly anisotropic and shows a power-law dependence when the particles approach each other along the director field with a pair-binding energy of the order of several thousands of k(B)T for 4 microm diameter colloids.     

Direct observation of anisotropic interparticle forces in nematic colloids with optical tweezers

Interparticle forces in a nematic liquid-crystal colloid have been directly observed by the dual beam laser trapping method with pN sensitivity. We introduce two different types of spatial distributions of forces, detected between the particles accompanied by hyperbolic hedgehog defects. These force distributions lead to specific particle arrangements, which are both stabilized by the balance of the orientational stress field of nematics. On the basis of these results, we propose novel artificial construction for multiparticle regular arrangements.     

On a friction coefficient of nematic liquid crystals

Values of a friction coefficient of eight nematic liquid crystals are obtained by re-examining a set of old experimental data of Zwetkoff and Sosnovsky.     

Friction coefficient for a moving disinclination in a nematic liquid crystal

The effective friction coefficient for sufficiently slow motions of a disinclination in nematic liquid crystal is calculated. The motion of a disinclination under the repulsive force due to the boundary wall is also discussed.     

Effective frequency-dependent anchoring coefficient and rotational viscosity of nematic liquid crystals

The effective rotational viscosity and polar anchoring coefficient of a nematic liquid crystal were determined using electro-optical response by changing the frequency of the electric field in the kilohertz range. Both quantities monotonically decreased with an increase in the frequency and converged to a certain value at several tens of kilohertz. The effective rotational viscosity changes more than the order of magnitude in experimental range. On the other hand, the effective value of anchoring coefficient changes several times. We tried to explain the trends with the effect of an electric field induced by the motion of ionic impurity in liquid crystal.     

Self-diffusion coefficient of nematic liquid crystals from diffusion concentration gradient

A dynamic study of the mass transport by optical methods provides a new approach to evaluate the nematic self-diffusion coefficient. This value is obtained by extrapolation to C = 0 in an empirical relation D_C = D₀ exp (-βC), where D_C is the mass-corrected impurity diffusion coefficient and C is the local concentration of the diffusion profile.     

Influence of metal powder shape on drag coefficient in a spray jet

In plasma spraying, particle shape, size, distribution and density are the important factors to be considered in order to ensure high spray efficiency and better coating properties. In the present work, nickel, iron and aluminium irregular powders in the size range from 50 to 63 μm were spheroidized using thermal plasma processing. The spheroidization experiments have been carried out at different gas flow rates and plasma torch power levels. The sphericity was analyzed using shape factor. Drag coefficients of the powders were estimated using Reynolds number and sphericity of the powders in plasma. For irregular particles, the drag coefficient is higher than that of the spherical because of its large area of contact with plasma. The temperature dependent on drag coefficient is also discussed. Increasing temperature increases the drag coefficient of the powder particles injected in to the plasma jet. Increasing plasma jet temperature changes the density and viscosity of the plasma which affects the particle’s drag coefficient in the plasma. The results are reported and discussed.     

Interparticle potential up to next-to-leading order for gravitational,electrical, and dilatonic forces

Long-range forces up to next-to-leading order are computed in the framework of the Einstein–Maxwell-dilaton system by means of a semiclassical approach to gravity. As has been recently shown, this approach is effective if one of the masses under consideration is significantly greater than all the energies involved in the system. Further, we obtain the condition for the equilibrium of charged masses in the system.     

高风速下海洋飞沫水滴对拖曳系数的影响

海面飞沫水滴改变着海气动量通量的分布, 从而在相当程度上影响着海面拖曳系数. 为了能够精确估计海面飞沫水滴对海面拖曳系数的影响, 推导出新的依赖于风速和海浪状态的海洋飞沫生成函数, 将该飞沫生成函数用在改进的飞沫动量通量计算公式中进行飞沫动量通量的计算, 发现本文提出的飞沫动量通量计算公式对海浪状态具有较强的敏感性, 能够清晰地表达海浪状态对飞沫动量通量的影响. 海面总动量通量包含飞沫动量通量和海气界面动量通量, 基于此理论, 得到高风速下受飞沫水滴影响的海面拖曳系数关系式, 从关系式的理论值可知, 在高风速下, 海面拖曳系数开始衰减, 说明高风速下海面飞沫水滴能够抑制拖曳系数值的增加. 将理论结果与实验室和外海测量值进行对比, 发现海面拖曳系数的理论值变化范围覆盖了测量值, 同时将该海面拖曳系数代入海浪模式进行台风浪模拟, 发现海浪模式能够较好地模拟出有效波高, 说明本文提出的新的海面拖曳系数公式能够合理地用在高风速条件下.     

Non-Stokes drag coefficient in single-particle electrophoresis:New insights on a classical problem

We measured the intrinsic electrophoretic drag coefficient of a single charged particle by optically trapping the particle and applying an AC electric field, and found it to be markedly different from that of the Stokes drag. The drag coefficient,along with the measured electrical force, yield a mobility-zeta potential relation that agrees with the literature. By using the measured mobility as input, numerical calculations based on the Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations, coupled to the Navier–Stokes equation, reveal an intriguing microscopic electroosmotic flow near the particle surface, with a well-defined transition between an inner flow field and an outer flow field in the vicinity of electric double layer's outer boundary.This distinctive interface delineates the surface that gives the correct drag coefficient and the effective electric charge. The consistency between experiments and theoretical predictions provides new insights into the classic electrophoresis problem,and can shed light on new applications of electrophoresis to investigate biological nanoparticles.     

测定不同形状物体空气阻力系数的实验

设计空气流速连续可调的小型风洞,对圆形平板、圆柱体、流线体的空气阻力系数进行测量.利用U型管中水柱的高度差表达孔板法中空气的流速,通过悬臂梁力传感器测量测试物受到的空气阻力,根据空气阻力和U型管中水柱的高度差的关系测定空气阻力系数.     

Interaction potential and near wall dynamics of spherical colloids in suspensions of rod-like fd-virus

Averaged diffusivities of spherical colloids in solutions of rod-like particles, i.e. fd-virus, were measured with EWDLS and TIRM. While the experimentally observed near wall dynamics of the spheres in the absence of fd are well described by standard hydrodynamic theories, there are significant deviations at finite fd concentrations. Both experimental methods yield data which are significantly smaller than the theoretical predictions.     

Translation drag coefficient of a self-similar assembly of spheres immersed in an incompressible fluid.

On the basis of deterministic fractals and the Rotne-Prager hydrodynamic interaction tensor, we confirm the asymptotic as well as the finite size scaling of the friction coefficient lambda of a self-similar structure. The fractal assembly is made of N spheres with its dimension varying from D < 1 to D = 3. The number of spheres can be as high as N approximately O(10(4)). The asymptotic scaling behavior of the friction coefficient per sphere is lambda approximately N(1/D-1) for D > 1, lambda approximately (lnN)(-1) for D = 1, and lambda approximately N(0) for D < 1. The crossover behavior indicates that while in the regime of D > 1 the hydrodynamic screening effect grows with the size, for D<1 it is limited in a finite range, which decays with decreasing D.