2012/04/16 by Francis G. Woodhouse, Raymond E. Goldstein · 36 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Circulation (fluid dynamics) #Cylinder #Drop (telecommunication) #Elasticity of cell membranes #Flow (mathematics) #Fluid Dynamics and Thin Films #Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior #Membrane #Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies #Shear flow #Vesicle #Viscosity #cond-mat.soft #msc:74L15 #msc:76Z99 #physics.bio-ph #physics.flu-dyn
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/jfm.2012.118
published in Journal of Fluid Mechanics 705, 165-175 (Cambridge University Press) · 11 pages, 5 figures
openalex publication_date 2012/04/16 · arxiv created 2012/08/13 · arxiv updated 2012/08/14 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Abstract Recent experiments have shown that when a near-hemispherical lipid vesicle attached to a solid surface is subjected to a simple shear flow it exhibits a pattern of membrane circulation much like a dipole vortex. This is in marked contrast to the toroidal circulation that would occur in the related problem of a drop of immiscible fluid attached to a surface and subjected to shear. This profound difference in flow patterns arises from the lateral incompressibility of the membrane, which restricts the observable flows to those in which the velocity field in the membrane is two-dimensionally divergence free. Here we study these circulation patterns within the simplest model of membrane fluid dynamics. A systematic expansion of the flow field based on Papkovich–Neuber potentials is developed for general viscosity ratios between the membrane and the surrounding fluids. Comparison with experimental results (Vézy, Massiera & Viallat, Soft Matt. , vol. 3, 2007, pp. 844–851) is made, and it is shown how such studies could allow measurements of the membrane viscosity. Issues of symmetry-breaking and pattern selection are discussed.