Author(s)

J.J.L. Higdon & G.P. Muldowney

Abstract

A novel method is introduced for solving the three dimensional Stokes equations via a spectral element discretization of the boundary integral equation. The accuracy and convergence of the method are illustrated through applications involving rigid particles, droplet deformation in straining fields and instabilities of toroidal droplets. 1 Introduction Over the past two decades, the boundary integral method has proven to be a versatile technique for the analysis of low Reynolds flow. An early application of this technique for the three-dimensional Stokes equations was described by Youngren and Acrivos* for flow past rigid particles. The method was quickly extended to viscous free surface flows and has since been employed in countless applications including microscopic

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