Polymer migration in confined geometries
Prof. Dr. T. Ladd (Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, zurzeit MPI für Polymerforschung, Mainz)

I will describe ongoing research into the migration of polymers in narrow channels. We have used a combination of numerical simulation and kinetic theory to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the motion of polymers transverse to applied flow and force fields. Numerical simulations show that a flexible polymer migrates towards the channel center under the action of either a body force or a pressure-driven flow field. However, in combination we can drive the polymer towards the center or towards the walls, depending on the relative magnitudes of flow and force. These observations are explained qualitatively by a kinetic theory of a Hookean dumbbell.

O.B. Usta, J.E. Butler and A.J.C. Ladd, Phys. Rev. Lett., 98:098301 2007