Efficient simulation of noncrossing fibers and chains in a hydrodynamic solvent

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

An efficient simulation method is presented for Brownian fiber suspensions, which includes both uncrossability of the fibers and hydrodynamic interactions between the fibers mediated by a mesoscopic solvent. To conserve hydrodynamics, collisions between the fibers are treated such that momentum and energy are conserved locally. The choice of simulation parameters is rationalized on the basis of dimensionless numbers expressing the relative strength of different physical processes. The method is applied to suspensions of semiflexible fibers with a contour length equal to the persistence length, and a mesh size to contour length ratio ranging from 0.055 to 0.32. For such fibers the effects of hydrodynamic interactions are observable, but relatively small. The noncrossing constraint, on the other hand, is very important and leads to hindered displacements of the fibers, with an effective tube diameter in agreement with recent theoretical predictions. The simulation technique opens the way to study the effect of viscous effects and hydrodynamic interactions in microrheology experiments where the response of an actively driven probe bead in a fiber suspension is measured.

Original languageEnglish
Article number144903
JournalJournal of Chemical Physics
Volume130
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Efficient simulation of noncrossing fibers and chains in a hydrodynamic solvent'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this