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Abstract:

Particles suspended in fluid flow through a curved duct can focus to stable equilibrium positions in the duct cross-section due to the balance of two dominant forces - inertial lift force from axial flow and secondary drag force from cross-sectional vortices. Such particle focusing is exploited in various medical and industrial technologies aimed at separating particles by size. In this talk, we will present results of our numerical investigation of the dynamics of neutrally buoyant particles in fluid flow through curved ducts. We will show that rich bifurcations take place in the particle equilibria as a function of system parameters. We will offer insights on how these bifurcations in combination with particle dynamics can be exploited to separate particles of different sizes in circular and spiral ducts.

Abstract:

A classical wave-particle entity (WPE) can be realized experimentally as a droplet walking on the free surface of a vertically vibrating liquid bath, with the droplet's horizontal walking motion guided by its self-generated wave field. These self-propelled WPEs have been shown to exhibit analogs of several quantum and optical phenomena. Using an idealized theoretical model that takes the form of a Lorenz-like system, we theoretically and numerically explore the dynamics of such a one-dimensional WPE in a sinusoidal potential. We find steady states of the system that correspond to a stationary WPE as well as a rich array of unsteady motions such as back-and-forth oscillating walkers, runaway oscillating walkers and various types of irregular walkers. In the parameter space formed by the dimensionless parameters of the applied sinusoidal potential, we observe patterns of alternating unsteady behaviors suggesting interference effects. Additionally, in certain regions of the parameter space, we also identify multistability in the particle's long-term behavior that depends on the initial conditions. We make analogies between the identified behaviors in the WPE system and Bragg's reflection of light as well as electron motion in crystals.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure