Force moments of an active particle in a complex fluid

TL;DR

This paper develops a generalized reciprocal theorem to analyze the motion and force moments of active particles in complex, weakly nonlinear fluids, unifying previous models for passive and active particles in various fluid types.

Contribution

It introduces a formalism that extends reciprocal theorem applications to active particles in complex fluids, encompassing previous models as special cases.

Findings

Unified framework for active particle dynamics in complex fluids

Includes passive and active particles in Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids

Provides a basis for future analytical and computational studies

Abstract

A generalized reciprocal theorem is formulated for the motion and hydrodynamic force moments of an active particle in an arbitrary background flow of a (weakly nonlinear) complex fluid. This formalism includes as special cases a number of previous calculations of the motion of both passive and active particles in Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids.