Transport of spherical microparticles in a 3D vortex flow

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Aulnette, Marine, Burshtein, Noa, Banaei, Arash Alizad, Brandt, Luca, Haward, Simon J., Shen, Amy Q., Delmotte, Blaise, Lindner, Anke
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Aulnette, Marine
Burshtein, Noa
Banaei, Arash Alizad
Brandt, Luca
Haward, Simon J.
Shen, Amy Q.
Delmotte, Blaise
Lindner, Anke
author_facet Aulnette, Marine
Burshtein, Noa
Banaei, Arash Alizad
Brandt, Luca
Haward, Simon J.
Shen, Amy Q.
Delmotte, Blaise
Lindner, Anke
contents Particles are common in biological and environmental flows and are widely used in industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Their motion and flow dynamics are strongly affected by interactions with the surrounding flow structure. While particle-flow interactions have been extensively studied in low Reynolds number (Re) flows as well as in fully developed turbulence, the transport mechanisms of these particles in intermediate flow regimes remain less explored. Here, we investigate the response of neutrally buoyant spherical particles to a single vortex flow field. Using a microfluidic cross-slot geometry, we generate a well-characterized, stationary, three-dimensional streamwise vortex at moderate $\text{Re}$ ($\sim 50$). Our experimental results, supported by numerical simulations, show that with increasing particle diameter, they are progressively excluded from the vortex core. Initially, small particles follow a Burgers vortex-like self-similar motion, but for larger particle diameters, deviations from this trend emerge due to fluid inertia and finite-size effects. These findings enhance our understanding of particle dynamics in vortical flows and have implications for microfluidic applications involving particle sorting and separation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_02820
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Transport of spherical microparticles in a 3D vortex flow
Aulnette, Marine
Burshtein, Noa
Banaei, Arash Alizad
Brandt, Luca
Haward, Simon J.
Shen, Amy Q.
Delmotte, Blaise
Lindner, Anke
Fluid Dynamics
Particles are common in biological and environmental flows and are widely used in industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Their motion and flow dynamics are strongly affected by interactions with the surrounding flow structure. While particle-flow interactions have been extensively studied in low Reynolds number (Re) flows as well as in fully developed turbulence, the transport mechanisms of these particles in intermediate flow regimes remain less explored. Here, we investigate the response of neutrally buoyant spherical particles to a single vortex flow field. Using a microfluidic cross-slot geometry, we generate a well-characterized, stationary, three-dimensional streamwise vortex at moderate $\text{Re}$ ($\sim 50$). Our experimental results, supported by numerical simulations, show that with increasing particle diameter, they are progressively excluded from the vortex core. Initially, small particles follow a Burgers vortex-like self-similar motion, but for larger particle diameters, deviations from this trend emerge due to fluid inertia and finite-size effects. These findings enhance our understanding of particle dynamics in vortical flows and have implications for microfluidic applications involving particle sorting and separation.
title Transport of spherical microparticles in a 3D vortex flow
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.02820