Smoothed profile method to simulate colloidal particles in complex fluids

A new direct numerical simulation scheme, called "Smoothed Profile (SP) method," is presented. The SP method, as a direct numerical simulation of particulate flow, provides a way to couple continuum fluid dynamics with rigid-body dynamics through smoothed profile of colloidal particle. Our formulation includes extensions to colloids in multicomponent solvents such as charged colloids in electrolyte solutions. This method enables us to compute the time evolutions of colloidal particles, ions, and host fluids simultaneously by solving Newton, advection-diffusion, and NavierStokes equations so that the electro-hydrodynamic couplings can be fully taken into account. The electrophoretic mobilities of charged spherical particles are calculated in several situations. The comparisons with approximation theories show quantitative agreements for dilute dispersions without any empirical parameters.