The method of fundamental solutions for multi-particle Stokes flows: Application to a ring-like array of spheres

A method is presented for calculating Stokes flow around multiple particles of arbitrary shape. It uses the Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS) applied to single particles, combined with an iterative scheme to resolve the many particle-particle hydrodynamic interactions; an approach that is reminiscent of the Method of Reflections. The attractive features of the proposed method are inherited from the MFS — simplicity and accuracy — while providing orders of magnitude computational speed-up for large particle systems. The method is verified through a series of test cases, including those involving strong lubrication forces and non-spherical particles. Unlike applications of the Method of Reflections reported in the literature, the iterative scheme we propose (a block Gauss-Seidel approach to solving a particle-particle interaction matrix) converges for all the cases we consider, for both resistance and mobility problems. The scheme is applied to the study of Stokes flow around ring-like arrays of spheres. We show that the relationship between globally applied velocity or force to the response of individual spheres can be described by just 5 coefficients (or 9 in total) for any given configuration. The results indicate that for 7–10 spheres in sedimentation, there exists a certain spacing that produces steady-state translation of the ring, independent of its orientation. For large numbers of spheres, slender-body theory can be applied to the problem, providing remarkably close agreement to the numerical results over a wide range of parameters.