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Phoretic flow induced by asymmetric confinement

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Michelin, S 

Abstract

Internal phoretic flows due to the interactions of solid boundaries with local chemical gradients may be created using chemical patterning. Alternatively, we demonstrate here that internal flows might also be induced by geometric asymmetries of chemically homogeneous surfaces. We characterise the circulatory flow created in a cavity enclosed between two eccentric cylindrical walls of uniform chemical activity. Local gradients of the diffusing solute induce a slip flow along the surface of the cylinders, leading to a circulatory bulk flow pattern which can be solved analytically in the diffusive limit. The flow strength can be controlled by adjusting the relative positions of the cylinders, and an optimal configuration is identified. These results provide a model system for tunable phoretic pumps.

Description

Keywords

biological fluid dynamics, low-Reynolds-number flows, micro-/nano-fluid dynamics

Journal Title

Journal of Fluid Mechanics

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0022-1120
1469-7645

Volume Title

799

Publisher

Cambridge University Press
Sponsorship
This work was funded in part by a David Crighton Fellowship at the University of Cambridge (ML), a Mobility Plus Fellowship from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (ML), the EU through a Marie-Curie CIG grant (EL) and the French Ministry of Defense DGA (SM).