| The modeling of complex fluids, such as particulate suspensions, emulsions and polymer solutions, is a great challenge owing to the slow decay of hydrodynamic disturbances at low Reynolds numbers, which lead to long-ranged interactions between suspended particles. In this work, we use theory and numerical simulations to address a few problems in which hydrodynamic interactions result in collective dynamics, with emphasis on the effects of particle shape and deformability.;We first address the behavior of suspensions of anisotropic particles such as rigid fibers, and deformable particles such as viscous droplets, under sedimentation. Hydrodynamic interactions in these systems result in a concentration instability by which the particles aggregate into dense clusters surrounded by clarified fluid. Using newly developed efficient algorithms, we perform large-scale simulations of such suspensions with the aim of elucidating the instability mechanism. The salient features of the instability are adequately captured, and simulations in finite containers exhibit a wavenumber selection. Using a linear, stability analysis we demonstrate that the size of the concentration fluctuations is controlled by the stratification that is observed to form during the sedimentation process.;We then investigate the dynamics in suspensions of uncharged polarizable rigid rods placed in an electric field. The polarization of a rod results in the formation of a dipolar charge cloud around its surface, leading to a non-linear electrokinetic phenomenon termed induced-charge electrophoresis, which causes particle alignment and creates a disturbance flow. We derive a simple slender-body formulation for this effect valid for high-aspect-ratio particles, and use it to study hydrodynamic interactions in these systems. Using both theory and numerical simulations we show that experimentally observed particle pairings can be explained based on these interactions.;Finally, we apply Brownian dynamics to investigate the cross-streamline migration of short-chain polymers in a pressure-driven flow between two infinite flat plates. Using a detailed simulation method that accounts for multibody hydrodynamic interactions between the chain segments and channel walls, we demonstrate the existence of shear-induced migration away from the boundaries toward the centerline as a result of wall hydrodynamic interactions, and we characterize the effects of chain flexibility in the case of short polymers. |
