Dissipative particle dynamics simulation of macromolecular solutions under Poiseuille flow in microchannels

Abstract

macromolecular solutions under Poiseuille flow in microchannels are investigated using the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) approach. The results show that the macromolecular solutions are non-Newtonian fluids which can be described by power-law fluids, and the power-law index decreases with the increase of the macromolecular concentration. The DPD simulations show that the hydrodynamic interaction between the macromolecular chains and the wall, and the gradient of Brownian diffusivity of the chains govern the cross-stream migration of the macromolecules. However, the chain-wall hydrodynamic interaction may not be fully developed and are partly screened in conventional DPD approach. Hence, the chains migrate toward the wall during flow. Simulation results also indicate that the migration toward the wall increases with the increase of the driving force. The competition between the unscreened chain-wall hydrodynamic interaction and Brownian diffusivity leads to two symmetric off-center peaks and a local minimum in the channel centerline in the chain center-of-mass distribution. Under strong confinement, the chain-wall hydrodynamic interaction may be fully screened and the Brownian motion is weak, thus the chains weakly move toward the wall for channel of small width.