Resistance tensors for aggregate particles with Stokesian dynamics

Abstract

The response of particles to low-Reynolds flow can be compactly predicted with resistance or mobility tensors. However, the difficulty of obtaining accurate values for the elements of these tensors for specific geometries has held back work on particles with complex shapes. Here we show how Stokesian dynamics can be adapted to efficiently compute the resistance and mobility tensors of rigid and flexible aggregates, including confinement by walls. We introduce SHAPES, an implementation of the method, and demonstrate its capabilities for complex geometries including curved fibres, chiral dipoles, interacting aggregates, and active swimmers. Aggregates are represented by assemblies of beads designed to reproduce the geometry and motion of rigid or flexible particles. This coarse-grained description preserves the essential hydrodynamic interactions while substantially reducing computational cost. The method accurately reproduces known exact and approximate solutions, as well as experimental observations. The ability to compute the complete resistance and mobility tensors provides new insight into how aggregate shape controls translation, rotation, and coupling to fluid-velocity gradients. Previous descriptions often relied on simplified models retaining only a few symmetry-allowed couplings. While useful, such reduced descriptions are not always structurally stable under small perturbations of particle shape. Computing the full tensors makes it possible to draw robust conclusions and relate them to shape symmetry and hydrodynamic interactions. In particular, the method allows systematic analysis of non-Jeffery couplings to the strain rate that arise for helicoidal aggregates. SHAPES therefore provides a versatile framework for studying rigid and flexible aggregates in microfluidic, biological, and environmental flows.