Viscoelastic lubrication of a submerged cylinder sliding down an incline

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Main Authors: Oratis, Alexandros T., Berg, Kai van den, Bertin, Vincent, Snoeijer, Jacco H.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Oratis, Alexandros T.
Berg, Kai van den
Bertin, Vincent
Snoeijer, Jacco H.
author_facet Oratis, Alexandros T.
Berg, Kai van den
Bertin, Vincent
Snoeijer, Jacco H.
contents Lubrication flows between two solid surfaces can be found in a variety of biological and engineering settings. In many of these systems, the lubricant exhibits viscoelastic properties, which modify the associated lubrication forces. Here, we experimentally study viscoelastic lubrication by considering the motion of a submerged cylinder sliding down an incline. We demonstrate that cylinders move faster when released in a viscoelastic Boger liquid compared to a Newtonian liquid with similar viscosity. Cylinders exhibit pure sliding motion in viscoelastic liquids, in contrast to the stick-slip motion observed in Newtonian liquids. We rationalize our results by using the second-order fluid model, which predicts a lift force on the cylinder arising from the normal-stress differences provided by the dissolved polymers. The interplay between viscoelastic lift, viscous friction, and gravity leads to a prediction for the sliding speed, which is consistent with our experimental results for weakly viscoelastic flows. Finally, we identify a remarkable difference between the lubrication of cylindrical and spherical contacts, as the latter does not exhibit any lift for weak viscoelasticity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_08242
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Viscoelastic lubrication of a submerged cylinder sliding down an incline
Oratis, Alexandros T.
Berg, Kai van den
Bertin, Vincent
Snoeijer, Jacco H.
Soft Condensed Matter
Fluid Dynamics
Lubrication flows between two solid surfaces can be found in a variety of biological and engineering settings. In many of these systems, the lubricant exhibits viscoelastic properties, which modify the associated lubrication forces. Here, we experimentally study viscoelastic lubrication by considering the motion of a submerged cylinder sliding down an incline. We demonstrate that cylinders move faster when released in a viscoelastic Boger liquid compared to a Newtonian liquid with similar viscosity. Cylinders exhibit pure sliding motion in viscoelastic liquids, in contrast to the stick-slip motion observed in Newtonian liquids. We rationalize our results by using the second-order fluid model, which predicts a lift force on the cylinder arising from the normal-stress differences provided by the dissolved polymers. The interplay between viscoelastic lift, viscous friction, and gravity leads to a prediction for the sliding speed, which is consistent with our experimental results for weakly viscoelastic flows. Finally, we identify a remarkable difference between the lubrication of cylindrical and spherical contacts, as the latter does not exhibit any lift for weak viscoelasticity.
title Viscoelastic lubrication of a submerged cylinder sliding down an incline
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.08242