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Phoretic self-propulsion at finite Péclet numbers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2014

Sébastien Michelin  and
Eric Lauga
Sébastien Michelin*
Affiliation:
LadHyX, Département de Mécanique, Ecole Polytechnique – CNRS, 91128 Palaiseau, France
Eric Lauga
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
*
†Email address for correspondence: sebastien.michelin@ladhyx.polytechnique.fr
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Abstract

Phoretic self-propulsion is a unique example of force- and torque-free motion on small scales. The classical framework describing the flow field around a particle swimming by self-diffusiophoresis neglects the advection of the solute field by the flow and assumes that the chemical interaction layer is thin compared to the particle size. In this paper we quantify and characterize the effect of solute advection on the phoretic swimming of a sphere. We first rigorously derive the regime of validity of the thin-interaction-layer assumption at finite values of the Péclet number (${Pe}$). Under this assumption, we solve computationally the flow around Janus phoretic particles and examine the impact of solute advection on propulsion and the flow created by the particle. We demonstrate that although advection always leads to a decrease of the swimming speed and flow stresslet at high values of the Péclet number, an increase can be obtained at intermediate values of ${Pe}$. This possible enhancement of swimming depends critically on the nature of the chemical interactions between the solute and the surface. We then derive an asymptotic analysis of the problem at small ${Pe}$ which allows us to rationalize our computational results. Our computational and theoretical analysis is accompanied by a parallel study of the influence of reactive effects at the surface of the particle (Damköhler number) on swimming.

JFM classification

Biological Fluid Dynamics: Biological Fluid Dynamics Low-Reynolds-number flows: Low-Reynolds-number flows Biological Fluid Dynamics: Swimming/flying
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 747 , 25 May 2014 , pp. 572 - 604
Copyright
© 2014 Cambridge University Press 

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