High-speed trains: In microchannels?

Abstract

Kahkeshani et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 786, 2016, R3) have studied particle ordering in suspension flow in a rectangular microchannel. Experiments and numerical simulations reveal that inertial focusing and hydrodynamic interactions result in long-lived 'trains' of regularly spaced particles. The preferred spacing is frustrated at sufficient particle concentration, an important feature for applications.