Hydrodynamic interaction between two identical capsules in simple shear flow

We present a numerical model of the hydrodynamic interactions between two capsules freely suspended in a simple shear flow. The capsules are identical and each consists of a liquid droplet enclosed by a thin hyperelastic membrane, devoid of bending resistance and obeying a neo-Hookean constitutive law. The two capsules are slightly prestressed with a given inflation ratio in order to avoid the small deformation instability due to compression observed for a single capsule in simple shear flow. The viscosity ratio between the interior and exterior fluids of the capsule is taken to be unity and creeping flow conditions are assumed to prevail. The boundary-element method is used with bi-cubic B-splines as basis functions on a structured mesh in order to discretize the capsule surface. A new method using two grids with initially orthogonal pole axes is developed to eliminate polar singularities in the load calculation and to allow for long computation times. Two capsules suspended in simple shear flow usually have different velocities and thus eventually pass each other. We study this crossing process as a function of flow strength and initial particle separation. We find that hydrodynamic interactions during crossing lead to large shape alterations, elevated elastic tensions in the membrane and result in an irreversible trajectory shift of the capsules. Furthermore, a tendency towards buckling is observed, particularly during the separation phase where large pressure differences occur. Our results are in qualitative agreement with those obtained for a pair of interacting liquid droplets but show the specific role played by the membrane of capsules.