Towards the simulation of dense suspensions: a numerical tool

Abstract

We present a numerical tool which aims at investigating the rheology of dense suspensions of entities such as spheres, red blood cells, polymer chains, or any kind of rigid or deformable bodies, in a viscous fluid. We shall pay a special attention to the short-range interactions between those entities (contact forces, lubrication forces). As for the fluid itself, our strategy consists in avoiding the direct and costly solution of the Stokes equations by integrating only the interaction forces which are likely to play a significant role in the overall behaviour of the suspension, in the spirit of Stokesian Dynamics. We present some preliminary results for suspensions of spheres, Red Blood Cells, and polymer-like chains.