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The nonlinear mechanics of a flexible elastic rod constrained at its edges by a pair of sliding sleeves is analyzed. The planar equilibrium configurations of this variable-length elastica are found to have shape defined only by the…
The stability of idealized shear flow at long wavelengths is studied in detail. A hydrodynamic analysis at the level of the Navier-Stokes equation for small shear rates is given to identify the origin and universality of an instability at…
The linear stability of a shear-thinning, viscoelastic fluid undergoing any of the canonical rectilinear shear flows, viz., plane Couette flow and pressure-driven flow through a channel or a tube is analyzed in the creeping-flow limit using…
We present experimental observations and numerical simulations of a wrinkling instability that occurs at sufficiently high strain rates in the trembling regime of vesicle dynamics in steady linear flow. Spectral and statistical analysis of…
An analytical theory is presented for linear, local, short-wavelength instabilities in swirling flows, in which axial shear, differential rotation, radial thermal stratification, viscosity, and thermal diffusivity are all taken into…
We study the nonlinear evolution of the magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability using three-dimensional MHD simulations. We consider the idealized case of two inviscid, perfectly conducting fluids of constant density separated by a contact…
In this paper, we find a new large scale instability displayed by a stratified rotating flow in forced turbu- lence. The turbulence is generated by a small scale external force at low Reynolds number. The theory is built on the rigorous…
We investigated the Rayleigh-Plateau instability at the interface between two immiscible liquids of equal viscosity using molecular dynamics simulations. Two types of initial conditions were considered, one with an imposed single-mode…
Magnetohydrodynamically induced interface instability in liquid metal batteries is analyzed. The batteries are represented by a simplified system in the form of a rectangular cell, in which strong vertical electric current flows through…
Most aquatic vertebrates swim by lateral flapping of their bodies and caudal fins. While much effort has been devoted to understanding the flapping kinematics and its influence on the swimming efficiency, little is known about the stability…
We consider a kinetic model of an active suspension of rod-like microswimmers. In certain regimes, swimming has a stabilizing effect on the suspension. We quantify this effect near homogeneous isotropic equilibria $\overline{\psi} =…
Buckling induced by viscous flow changes the shape of sheet-like nanomaterial particles suspended in liquids. This instability at the particle scale affects collective behavior of suspension flows and has many technological and biological…
Motivated by studies suggesting that the patterns exhibited by the collectively expanding fronts of thin cells during the closing of a wound [Mark et al., Biophys. J., 98:361-370, 2010] and the shapes of single cells crawling on surfaces…
We present a combined experimental, numerical and theoretical investigation of the geometric scaling of the onset of a purely-elastic flow instability in a serpentine channel. Good qualitative agreement is obtained between experiments,…
Motivated by recent experiments on colloidal suspensions, we study analytically and numerically a microscopic model for self-propelled particles lacking alignment interactions. In this model, even for purely repulsive interactions, a…
We study the linear stability of weakly magnetized differentially rotating plasmas in both collisionless kinetic theory and Braginskii's theory of collisional, magnetized plasmas. We focus on the very weakly magnetized limit that is…
Hypothesis: Interfacial instabilities cause undesirable droplet breakage during impact. Such breakage affects many applications, such as printing, spraying, etc. Particle coating over a droplet can significantly change the impact process…
We discovered an oscillatory instability in a system of inelastically colliding hard spheres, driven by two opposite "thermal" walls at zero gravity. The instability, predicted by a linear stability analysis of the equations of granular…
This study investigates the dynamics and controllability of a Purcell three-link microswimmer equipped with passive elastic torsional coils at its joints. By controlling the spontaneous curvature, we analyse the swimmers motion using both…
The microscopic dynamics of objects suspended in a fluid determines the macroscopic rheology of a suspension. For example, as shown by Danker and Misbah [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 088104 (2007)], the viscosity of a dilute suspension of…