Rheologic and dynamic behavior of sheared vesicle suspensions

The rheology and dynamics of suspensions of fluid vesicles is investigated by a combination of molecular dynamics and mesoscale hydrodynamics simulations in two dimensions. The vesicle suspension is confined between two no-slip shearing walls. The flow behavior is studied as a function of the shear rate, the volume fraction of vesicles, and the viscosity ratio between inside and outside fluids. Results are obtained for the interactions of two vesicles, the intrinsic viscosity of the suspension, and the cell-free layer near the walls.