A numerical study of two coaxial axi-symmetric particles undergoing steady equal rotation in the slip regime

Abstract

The problem of two axi-symmetric particles (separated by a certain distance) that rotate about their common axis of symmetry in an infinite viscous fluid with slip boundary conditions at their surfaces have been studied numerically. Aerosol particles are usually nonspherical with the exception of liquid droplets in certain cases, and the shape of particles has a significant impact on frictional drag (for particle translation) and torque (for particle rotation), and, hence, on Brownian motion, and the deposition, sampling and coagulation of particles. The effects of the rotation of particles prior to their collision and coagulation have usually been ignored in favor of simpler calculations. The study of two-particle systems should give more information about the interaction between particles that cannot be understood from the study of single particles alone. In this work, the Laplace equation (resulting from the steady Stokes equation) with slip boundary conditions is converted into a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind via the use of Green's function. The integral equations are then solved by the singularity subtraction method. The local stresses are calculated at each nodal point and the torques are then calculated from the summation of the local stresses. Explicit numerical results for the local stresses and torques are reported for three systems of two axi-symmetric particles, i.e. sphere-sphere, sphere-spheroid, and spheroid-spheroid. While the formulation of the problem is quite general, the results reported here have been limited to calculations for systems in which both particles have identical angular velocities. The numerical method is, however, valid for arbitrary axi-symmetric particles and its modification to systems containing other shaped particles or differing angular velocities is straightforward. Numerical results of the torques for each system studied show in every case that the presence of slip results in a reduction in the torques. As a consequence, the impact of the slip on the torques and local stresses is substantial and cannot be ignored. The distance between the centers of the particles (the separation distance) also plays an important role in determining the values of the torques and local stresses. In the systems that have been studied here, as the particles get further apart, the torques on both particles increase.