Related papers: Hovering of an actively driven fluid-lubricated fo…
Inspired by recent experiments demonstrating that vibrating elastic sheets can function as seemingly contactless suction cups, we investigate the elastohydrodynamic hovering of a thin elastic sheet vibrating near a rigid substrate. Previous…
Relative motion between soft wet solids arises in a number of applications in natural and artificial settings, and invariably couples elastic deformation and fluid flow. We explore this in a minimal setting by considering a fluid-immersed…
The motion of an object within a viscous fluid and in the vicinity of a soft surface induces a hydrodynamic stress field that deforms the latter, thus modifying the boundary conditions of the flow. This results in elastohydrodynamic (EHD)…
We study the lubrication of fluid-immersed soft interfaces and show that elastic deformation couples tangential and normal forces and thus generates lift. We consider materials that deform easily, due to either geometry (e.g. a shell) or…
We consider some basic principles of fluid-induced lubrication at soft interfaces. In particular, we show how the presence of a soft substrate leads to an increase in the physical separation between surfaces sliding past each other. By…
The dynamics of a thin elastic sheet lubricated by a narrow layer of liquid is relevant to various situations and length scales. In the continuity of our previous work on viscous wakes, we study theoretically the effects of an external…
We investigate theoretically and numerically the impact of an elastic sphere on a rigid wall in a viscous fluid. Our focus is on the dynamics of the contact, employing the soft lubrication model in which the sphere is separated from the…
We study experimentally the motion of non-deformable microbeads in a linear shear flow close to a wall bearing a thin and soft polymer layer. Combining microfluidics and 3D optical tracking, we demonstrate that the steady-state bead/surface…
This work explores the lift force experienced by a particle moving in a viscous fluid near a liquid-liquid interface. The lift force is induced by the interaction between the viscous flow generated by the particle's motion and the…
Swimming and flying animals demonstrate remarkable adaptations to diverse flow conditions in their environments. In this study, we aim to advance the fundamental understanding of the interaction between flexible bodies and heterogeneous…
A rigid object moving in a viscous fluid and in close proximity with an elastic wall experiences self-generated elastohydrodynamic interactions. This has been the subject of an intense research activity, with a recent and growing attention…
Elastohydrodynamic lubrication, or simply soft lubrication, refers to the motion of deformable objects near a boundary lubricated by a fluid, and is one of the key physical mechanisms to minimise friction and wear in natural and engineered…
Lubrication flows appear in many applications in engineering, biophysics, and in nature. Separation of surfaces and minimisation of friction and wear is achieved when the lubrication fluid builds up a lift force. In this paper we analyse…
The elastic Leidenfrost effect occurs when a vaporizable soft solid is lowered onto a hot surface. Evaporative flow couples to elastic deformation, giving spontaneous bouncing or steady-state floating. The effect embodies an unexplored…
Over the past few decades, oscillating flexible foils have been used to study the physics of organismal propulsion in different fluid environments. Here we extend this work to a study of flexible foils in a frictional environment. When the…
We simulate a dense athermal suspension of soft particles sheared between hard walls of a prescribed roughness profile, using a method that fully accounts for the fluid mechanics of the solvent between the particles, and between the…
We consider the touchdown of an elastic sheet as it adheres to a wall, which has a dynamics that is limited by the viscous resistance provided by the squeeze flow of the intervening liquid trapped between the two solid surfaces. The…
Lubrication forces depend to a high degree on elasticity, texture, charge, chemistry, and temperature of the interacting surfaces. Therefore, by appropriately designing surface properties, we may tailor lubrication forces to reduce…
The understanding of sliding friction for wet, patterned surfaces from first principles is challenging. While emerging applications have sought design principles from biology, a general framework is lacking because soft interfaces…
A huge number of technological and biological systems involves the lubricated contact between rough surfaces of soft solids in relative accelerated motion. Examples include dynamical rubber seals and the human joints. In this study we…