A reciprocal theorem for boundary-driven channel flows
Abstract
In a variety of physical situations, a bulk viscous flow is induced by a distribution of surface velocities, for example, in diffusiophoresis (as a result of chemical gradients) and above carpets of cilia (as a result of biological activity). When such boundary-driven flows are used to pump fluids, the primary quantity of interest is the induced flow rate. In this letter, we propose a method, based on the reciprocal theorem of Stokes flows, to compute the net flow rate for arbitrary flow distribution and periodic pump geometry using solely stress information from a dual Poiseuille-like problem. After deriving the general result, we apply it to straight channels of triangular, elliptic, and rectangular geometries and quantify the relationship between bulk motion and surface forcing.
- Publication:
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Physics of Fluids
- Pub Date:
- November 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1063/1.4935415
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1510.07942
- Bibcode:
- 2015PhFl...27k1701M
- Keywords:
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- Physics - Fluid Dynamics;
- Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter;
- Physics - Biological Physics
- E-Print:
- 7 pages, 2 figures