Homogenization of Active Suspensions and Reduction of Effective Viscosity
We consider a suspension of active rigid particles (swimmers) in a steady Stokes flow, using for simplicity a steady-state model where particles are distributed according to a stationary ergodic random process, and we study its homogenization in the macroscopic limit. An analysis in the dilute regime shows that the activity of the particles can either increase or decrease the effective viscosity (depending on the swimming mechanism), in a way that strongly differs from the well-known effect of passive suspensions.
Mar 1, 2023
