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Slip slender-body theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2025

Yi Man Open the ORCID record for Yi Man [Opens in a new window] ,
Lyndon Koens Open the ORCID record for Lyndon Koens [Opens in a new window]  and
Eric Lauga
Yi Man*
Affiliation:
School of Mechanics and Engineering Science, State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, Peking University , Beijing 100871, PR China
Lyndon Koens
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK Discipline of Mathematics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
Eric Lauga*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
*
Corresponding authors: Yi Man, yiman@pku.edu.cn; Eric Lauga, e.lauga@damtp.cam.ac.uk
Corresponding authors: Yi Man, yiman@pku.edu.cn; Eric Lauga, e.lauga@damtp.cam.ac.uk
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Abstract

Slip effects on solid boundaries are common in complex fluids. Boundary depletion layers in polymer solutions can create apparent slip effects, which can in turn significantly impact the dynamics of moving bodies. Motivated by microswimmer locomotion in such environments, we derive a series of slip slender-body theories for filamentous bodies experiencing slip-like boundary conditions. Using Navier’s slip model, we derive three slip slender-body theories, linking the body’s velocity to the distribution of hydrodynamic forces. The models are shown to be consistent with each other and with existing numerical computations. As the slip length increases, we show that the drag parallel to the body decreases towards zero while the perpendicular drag remains finite, in a manner which we quantify. This reduction in drag ratio is shown to be inversely related to microswimmer mobility in two simple swimmer models. This increase could help rationalise empirically observed enhanced swimming in complex fluids.

JFM classification

Low-Reynolds-number flows: Slender-body theory

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Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 1025 , 25 December 2025 , A34
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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