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Far field asymptotics of nematic flows around a small spherical particle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2025

Dmitry Golovaty
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
Nung Kwan Yip*
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
*
Corresponding author: Nung Kwan Yip, yipn@purdue.edu

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the flow of a nematic liquid crystal in the domain exterior to a small spherical particle. We work within the framework of the $\unicode{x1D64C}$-tensor model, taking into account the orientational elasticity of the medium. Under a suitable regime of physical parameters, the governing equations can be reduced to a system of linear partial differential equations. Our focus is on precise far-field asymptotics of the flow velocity with an emphasis on its anisotropic behaviour. We are able to analytically characterize the flow pattern and compare it with that of the classical isotropic Stokes flow. The expression for velocity away from the particle can be computed numerically or symbolically.

Information

Type
JFM Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Figure 1. A 3-D plot of the rescaled $\boldsymbol{v}_1$ in the $yz$-plane on the whole computational domain $1 \lt r \lt 10^5$. Note that the behaviour of interest is near the tip of the conical section of the surface plot. The remaining part of the surface is determined by the finite size of the domain. Here (a) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is set to be $\unicode{x1D64C}_*$; (b) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is given by (3.4).

Figure 1

Figure 2. A 2-D plot of rescaled $\boldsymbol{v}_1$ in the $yz$-plane on the whole computational domain $1 \lt r \lt 10^5$ (cf. figure 1). Here (a) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is set to be $\unicode{x1D64C}_*$; (b) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is given by (3.4). Note again the distinction between the two plots.

Figure 2

Figure 3. Zoomed-in 2-D plot ($1\lt r\lt 20$) of the rescaled $\boldsymbol{v}_1$ in the $yz$-plane (cf. figure 2). Here (a) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is set to be $\unicode{x1D64C}_*$; (b) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is given by (3.4).

Figure 3

Figure 4. Zoomed-in 2-D, rescaled plot ($1\lt r\lt 20$) of $\boldsymbol{v}_2$ in the $xy$-plane. Here (a) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is set to be $\unicode{x1D64C}_*$; (b) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is given by (3.4).

Figure 4

Figure 5. Zoomed-in, 2-D, rescaled plot ($1\lt r\lt 20$) of $\boldsymbol{v}_3$ in the $xz$-plane. Here (a) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is set to be $\unicode{x1D64C}_*$; (b) $\unicode{x1D64C}$ is given by (3.4).

Figure 5

Figure 6. A 2-D, rescaled plot of $\boldsymbol{v}_3$ in the $xy$-plane: (a) whole computational domain, $1 \lt r \lt 10^5$; (b) zoomed-in version, $1 \lt r \lt 20$.

Figure 6

Figure 7. A 2-D, rescaled plot of $\boldsymbol{v}_3$ in the $xz$-plane: (a) whole computational domain, $1 \lt r \lt 10^5$; (b) zoomed-in version, $1 \lt r \lt 20$.

Figure 7

Figure 8. A 2-D, rescaled plot of $\boldsymbol{v}_1$ in the $xz$-plane: (a) whole computational domain, $1 \lt r \lt 10^5$; (b) zoomed-in version, $1 \lt r \lt 20$.

Figure 8

Figure 9. A 2-D, rescaled plot of $\boldsymbol{v}_2$ in the $yz$-plane: (a) whole computational domain, $1 \lt r \lt 10^5$; (b) zoomed-in version, $1 \lt r \lt 20$.

Figure 9

Figure 10. A 2-D, rescaled plot ($1 \lt r \lt 20$) of $\boldsymbol{v}_1 - {\boldsymbol{v}_0}_1$ in the $yz$-plane: (a) $\gamma _1 = 0.2$, $\gamma _2 = 0.18$; (b) $\gamma _1 = 0.1$, $\gamma _2 = 0.09$; (c) $\gamma _1 = 0.05$, $\gamma _2 = 0.045$.

Figure 10

Figure 11. A 2-D, rescaled plot ($1\lt r \lt 20$) of $\boldsymbol{v}_2 - {\boldsymbol{v}_0}_2$ in the $xy$-plane: (a) $\gamma _1 = 0.2$, $\gamma _2 = 0.18$; (b) $\gamma _1 = 0.1$, $\gamma _2 = 0.09$; (c) $\gamma _1 = 0.05$, $\gamma _2 = 0.045$.

Figure 11

Figure 12. A 2-D, rescaled plot ($1 \lt r \lt 20$) of $\boldsymbol{v}_3 - {\boldsymbol{v}_0}_3$ in the $xz$-plane: (a) $\gamma _1 = 0.2$, $\gamma _2 = 0.18$; (b) $\gamma _1 = 0.1$, $\gamma _2 = 0.09$; (c) $\gamma _1 = 0.05$, $\gamma _2 = 0.045$.

Figure 12

Figure 13. Here $\displaystyle g(r) = r(({\boldsymbol{v}_1}/{V}) - 1)$ for classical Stokes flow on $1 \lt r \lt 10^5$: (a) in $yz$-plane; (b) in $xy$-plane.

Figure 13

Figure 14. Radial profile (rescaled) $\boldsymbol{v}_1$ for classical Stokes flow (in the $yz$-plane) $1 \lt r \lt 10^5$: (a) $\displaystyle g(r) = r(({\boldsymbol{v}_1}/{V}) - 1)$; (b) zoomed-in version of (a).

Figure 14

Figure 15. Comparison between the exact analytical rescaled radial profiles (along the $y$-axis) of $\boldsymbol{v}_1$ for classical Stokes flows, $\displaystyle g(r) = r(({\boldsymbol{v}_1}/{V}) - 1)$: (a) blue, finite domain ($1 \lt r \lt 10^5$); red, infinite domain ($1 \lt r \lt \infty )$; (b) zoomed-in version of (a).

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