Self-propulsion of Janus particles in the free molecular regime

The self-propulsion of a Janus particle suspended in a dilute gas at equilibrium is investigated in the free molecular regime. The Janus particle consists of two hemispheres with different momentum accommodation factors; the particle and the surrounding gas are held at different constant temperature...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysics of fluids (1994) Vol. 34; no. 3
Main Author Marchesoni, Fabio
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Melville American Institute of Physics 01.03.2022
Subjects
Accommodation
Drag
Fluid dynamics
Hemispheres
Kinetic theory
Momentum
Nanoparticles
Physics
Propulsion
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Summary:The self-propulsion of a Janus particle suspended in a dilute gas at equilibrium is investigated in the free molecular regime. The Janus particle consists of two hemispheres with different momentum accommodation factors; the particle and the surrounding gas are held at different constant temperatures. Based on the gas kinetic theory, we calculate the particle's self-propulsion and drag force. We conclude that self-propulsion occurs only under the condition that the particle is hotter/colder than the suspension gas, and the self-propulsion force is proportional to the difference of the momentum accommodation factors and directed along the symmetry axis. The drag force, instead, is corrected by a term proportional to the average of the momentum accommodation factors. Our analytical results are confirmed by numerical Monte Carlo simulations.
ISSN:1070-6631
1089-7666
DOI:10.1063/5.0085921