Rotation of a fiber in simple shear flow of a dilute polymer solution

Abstract

The motion of a freely rotating prolate spheroid in a simple shear flow of a dilute polymeric solution is examined in the limit of large particle aspect ratio, $\kappa$. A regular perturbation expansion in the polymer concentration, $c$, a generalized reciprocal theorem, and slender body theory to represent the velocity field of a Newtonian fluid around the spheroid are used to obtain the $\mathcal{O}(c)$ correction to the particle's orientational dynamics. The resulting dynamical system predicts a range of orientational behaviors qualitatively dependent upon $c\cdot De$ ($De$ is the imposed shear rate times the polymer relaxation time) and $\kappa$ and quantitatively on $c$. At a small but finite $c\cdot De$, the particle spirals towards a limit cycle near the vorticity axis for all initial conditions. Upon increasing $\kappa$, the limit cycle becomes smaller. Thus, ultimately the particle undergoes a periodic motion around and at a small angle from the vorticity axis. At moderate $c\cdot De$, a particle starting near the flow-gradient plane departs it monotonically instead of spirally, as this plane (a limit cycle at smaller $c\cdot De$) obtains a saddle and an unstable node. The former is close to the flow direction. Upon further increasing $c\cdot De$, the saddle-node changes to a stable node. Therefore, depending upon the initial condition, a particle may either approach a periodic orbit near the vorticity axis or obtain a stable orientation near the flow direction. Upon further increasing $c\cdot De$, the limit cycle near the vorticity axis vanishes, and the particle aligns with the flow direction for all starting orientations.

47 pages, 25 figures, accepted at Journal of Fluid Mechanics