Dynamic simulation using a multipolar model of particles under dielectrophoretic force

This article presents the simulation of an electrorheological (ER) fluid system by using a multipole model that includes multipolar interactions between particles. The model uses the multipole re-expansion and the method of images for calculating electric field and force. The highest order of multipoles (N_mp) and the number of iterations (N_iter) used in the method of images can be chosen for the accuracy of the force approximation and the simulation time required. Study of a two-particle configuration shows that the force does not increase linearly with increasing N_mp and N_iter. The specific case N_mp=4 and N_iter=2 is chosen for dynamic simulation. We have performed the simulation of a system of 20 particles, and compared the formulation of particle chains with that obtained using the dipole model. The results imply that the response time for the change in viscosity of real-ER fluids is significantly shorter than that predicted by the dipole model.