Flow States and Transitions of an Active Nematic in a Three-Dimensional Channel

Santhan Chandragiri, Amin Doostmohammadi, Julia M. Yeomans, Sumesh P. Thampi

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Abstract

We use active nematohydrodynamics to study the flow of an active fluid in a 3D microchannel, finding a transition between active turbulence and regimes where there is a net flow along the channel. We show that the net flow is only possible if the active nematic is flow aligning and that, in agreement with experiments, the appearance of the net flow depends on the aspect ratio of the channel cross section. We explain our results in terms of when the hydrodynamic screening due to the channel walls allows the emergence of vortex rolls across the channel.

Original languageEnglish
Article number148002
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume125
Issue number14
Number of pages6
ISSN0031-9007
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Sep 2020

Keywords

  • MIGRATION
  • MOTION

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