Hydrodynamic Stokes flow induced by a chemically active patch imprinted on a planar wall

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Popescu, Mihail N., Nicola, Bogdan Adrian, Uspal, William E., Domínguez, Alvaro, Gáspár, Szilveszter
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Popescu, Mihail N.
Nicola, Bogdan Adrian
Uspal, William E.
Domínguez, Alvaro
Gáspár, Szilveszter
author_facet Popescu, Mihail N.
Nicola, Bogdan Adrian
Uspal, William E.
Domínguez, Alvaro
Gáspár, Szilveszter
contents Patches of catalyst imprinted on supporting walls induce motion of the fluid around them once they are supplied with the chemical species (``fuel'') that are converted by the catalytic chemical reaction. While the functioning of such chemically active micropumps is conceptually well understood, an in-depth characterization of the induced hydrodynamic flow, and in particular of its possible dependences on parameters such as material properties of the patch and the wall or the geometry of the experimental cell, remains elusive. By using a simple model for the chemical activity of a patch imprinted on a planar wall, we determine analytically the induced hydrodynamic flow in a Newtonian solution that occupies the half space above the wall supporting the patch. This can be seen as an approximation for an experimental-cell geometry with a height much larger than its diameter, the latter, in turn, being much larger than the size of the patch.) The general flow is a linear superposition of a surface-driven and a bulk-driven component; they have different topologies and, generically, each one dominates in distinct regions, with the surface-driven flow being most relevant at small heights above the wall. The surface-driven flows exhibit a somewhat unexpectedly rich behavior, including qualitative changes in the topology of the flow, as a function of the contrast in surface-chemistry (osmotic slip coefficient) between the patch and the support wall. The results are expected to provide guidance for the interpretation of the drift of tracers by the ambient flow, which is the observable usually studied in experimental investigations of chemically active micropumps.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_12107
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hydrodynamic Stokes flow induced by a chemically active patch imprinted on a planar wall
Popescu, Mihail N.
Nicola, Bogdan Adrian
Uspal, William E.
Domínguez, Alvaro
Gáspár, Szilveszter
Soft Condensed Matter
Patches of catalyst imprinted on supporting walls induce motion of the fluid around them once they are supplied with the chemical species (``fuel'') that are converted by the catalytic chemical reaction. While the functioning of such chemically active micropumps is conceptually well understood, an in-depth characterization of the induced hydrodynamic flow, and in particular of its possible dependences on parameters such as material properties of the patch and the wall or the geometry of the experimental cell, remains elusive. By using a simple model for the chemical activity of a patch imprinted on a planar wall, we determine analytically the induced hydrodynamic flow in a Newtonian solution that occupies the half space above the wall supporting the patch. This can be seen as an approximation for an experimental-cell geometry with a height much larger than its diameter, the latter, in turn, being much larger than the size of the patch.) The general flow is a linear superposition of a surface-driven and a bulk-driven component; they have different topologies and, generically, each one dominates in distinct regions, with the surface-driven flow being most relevant at small heights above the wall. The surface-driven flows exhibit a somewhat unexpectedly rich behavior, including qualitative changes in the topology of the flow, as a function of the contrast in surface-chemistry (osmotic slip coefficient) between the patch and the support wall. The results are expected to provide guidance for the interpretation of the drift of tracers by the ambient flow, which is the observable usually studied in experimental investigations of chemically active micropumps.
title Hydrodynamic Stokes flow induced by a chemically active patch imprinted on a planar wall
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.12107