Open Access

ARTICLE

Dynamic Simulation of Long Flexible Fibers in Shear Flow

Wenzhong Tang¹, Suresh G. Advani¹

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering and Center for Composite materials, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716-3140, USA

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2005, 8(2), 165-176. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmes.2005.008.165

Abstract

An optimization method is proposed to simulate the motion of long flexible fibers in shear flow. The fiber is modeled as spheres connected by massless rigid rods and ball-socket joints. The optimization method is mathematically justified and used to obtain the position of a fiber at the next time step from its current position. Results for a single fiber in simple shear flow agree well with those reported in the literature. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by simulating the motion of two interactive fibers subjected to shear flow field, and by studying the viscosity of dilute suspensions of flexible fibers.

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