Polymer and particle dynamics and assembly in varied hydrodynamic fields

Polymeric solutions and colloidal suspensions are complex fluidic mixtures featuring mesoscopic characteristic length scales. An exciting feature of complex fluids is their unusual response to external stimulus, such as mechanical, electrical, or chemical forcing, due to changes in the orientation, structure, and assembly of the dissolved or suspended macromolecules. These tunable polymer and particle dynamics and interactions play essential roles in both industrial and environmental aqueous processes. In this work, recent advancements in complex fluid dynamics and macromolecular assembly in varied hydrodynamic fields are highlighted, including viscoelastic (de)stabilization in Taylor-Couette flow, colloidal particle assembly in electrohydrodynamic flows, and polyelectrolyte-particle flocculation in turbulent flows. Polymers including neutral polyethylene oxide and charged cationic polyacrylamide and particles including charged spherical beads and smectite inorganic clays are explored here. Polymer-particle dynamics and assembly, if well understood, can be engineered for key contributions in environmental remediation and energy-saving applications. Polymer and particle dynamics and assembly play essential roles in both industrial and environmental aqueous processes. In this work, recent advancements in complex fluid dynamics and macromolecular assembly in varied hydrodynamic fields are highlighted, including viscoelastic (de)stabilization in Taylor-Couette flow, colloidal particle assembly in electrohydrodynamic flows, and polyelectrolyte-particle flocculation in turbulent flows.