Stokes flow past a slightly deformed fluid sphere (Q1095736)

The Stokes flow due to the translation of a spherical fluid particle in an unbounded fluid medium has been investigated independently by Rybczynski and Hadamard. However, there are cases when the droplets are not perfectly spherical and it is to this situation that we now adress ourselves. In this note the problem of symmetrical flow past a fluid spheroid whose shape varies slightly from that of a sphere, is examined. Explicit expressions are obtained for both the external and internal flow fields to the first order in the small parameter characterizing the deformation. As a particular case, we consider the flow past an oblate spheroidal fluid particle and determine the drag experienced by it. Special well-known cases are then deduced.