Deformation, Orientation and Bursting of Microcapsules in Simple Shear Flow: Wrinkling Processes, Tumbling and Swinging Motions☆

Abstract In a series of experiments we systematically investigated the orientation and deformation behavior of non-spherical capsules in simple shear flow. We observed a continuous capsule rotation at low shear rates, denoted as tumbling mode . A swinging mode at elevated shear rates was characterized by oscillations of the inclination angle around positive values, superimposed by a tank-treading motion of the capsule membrane. The transition between these different modes occurred via an intermittent regime . It turned out that the capsule deformation greatly influenced the orientation dynamics. In several experiments, we also observed shear-induced membrane wrinkling processes.