Abstract

A capsule is a small liquid droplet enclosed by a thin membrane which has shear elasticity. Capsules are widely found in nature in forms of cells, eggs, seeds, etc. Artificial capsules, which can be fabricated by encapsulation, have numerous applications in food, cosmetic, textile, biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Under many situations in nature and industry, capsules are subjected to an external flow and deform. This talk will address the development of modelling and understanding of the rich dynamics of microcapsules in flow. The first part is about the development of an immersed-boundary lattice Boltzmann method for simulating the dynamics of 3d capsules; the second part will present the intriguing 3d dynamics of non-spherical capsules in shear flow; finally, I will briefly discuss our recent study on the stress-free shapes of red blood cells.