Trajectories of charged tracer particles around a charged sphere in a simple shear flow

Abstract

The trajectories of electrically charged tracer particles travelling around a charged sphere subjected to a simple shear flow have been calculated. This is a limiting case of the relative trajectories of two unequal-sized spheres when the radius ratio a1/a2 approaches zero. Until now these trajectories have been calculated by assuming the additivity of hydrodynamic and electrostatic forces, while neglecting the electroviscous coupling forces. These electroviscous forces are long range and can significantly alter the relative trajectories of spheres. When a1/a2 → 0, it is found that these trajectories depend on two parameters, α and β, which depend on the surface charge density of the tracer particle and the sphere. The relative trajectories of charged particles are qualitatively different from those of neutral particles. There exist six intervals of α-values for which the trajectories of the tracer particle show different features. Several new types of trajectory appear, besides the open and closed trajectories for neutral particles, which we refer to as uni- and bidirectional infinite length trajectories, uni- and bidirectional finite length trajectories, open returning trajectories, and prolate, oblate and circular closed trajectories. This richness of possible trajectories is the result of three electrokinetic phenomena, affecting particle motion: electro-osmotic slip, electrophoretic and diffusiophoretic motion.