Abstract
The creeping motion of a Newtonian fluid around a particle in a smooth domain is studied. It is proved that the force distribution on the surface of the particle can be approximated, in the limit where the ratio between particle size and the domain's radius of curvature tends to zero, by the force distribution on the same particle near a flat wall. This result is then utilized to show that the velocities of the particle in mobility problems, or the forces acting on it in resistance problems can be approximated by replacing the domain with a flat wall.