Hydrodynamic interactions change the buckling threshold of parallel flexible sheets in shear flow

Journal article (2023)

Authors

H.R.L. Perrin Complex Fluid Processing - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
H. Li Complex Fluid Processing - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
L. Botto Complex Fluid Processing - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
Research Group
Complex Fluid Processing (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2023 H.R.L. Perrin, H. Li, L. Botto
DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.8.124103
More Info
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Published Date

2023

Language

English

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Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Process and Energy

Research Group

Complex Fluid Processing

Abstract

Buckling induced by viscous flow changes the shape of sheetlike nanomaterial particles suspended in liquids. This instability at the particle scale affects collective behavior of suspension flows and has many technological and biological implications. Here, we investigated the effect of viscous hydrodynamic interactions on the morphology of flexible sheets. By analyzing a model experiment using thin sheets suspended in a shear cell, we found that a pair of sheets can bend for a shear rate ten times lower than the buckling threshold defined for a single sheet. This effect is caused by a lateral hydrodynamic force that arises from the disturbance flow field induced by the neighboring sheet. The lateral hydrodynamic force removes the buckling instability but massively enhances the bending deformation. For small separations between sheets, lubrication forces prevail and prevent deformation. Those two opposing effects result in a nonmonotonic relation between distances and shear rate for bending. Our study suggests that the morphology of sheetlike particles in suspensions is not purely a material property but also depends on particle concentration and microstructure.