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We investigate the flow dynamics within an elastic tube transporting a power-law fluid, where the tube is subject to a specified external forcing in the form of a progressive traveling wave. The oesophagus is cylindrical in shape and exhibits linear elastic properties. The flow is creeping, and the long wavelength and low Reynolds number approximations are employed for a solution. The relationship between the pressure distribution within the oesophagus and the radial variation of the tube characterizes the behavior of the tube. Findings reveal that the elasticity and the variations in the applied dilating forcing amplitude substantially impact pressure resulting from sinusoidal wave forcing. Notably, even a nominal increase in the inward radial force amplitude for dilatant fluid results in significant pressure changes compared with Newtonian fluid. We also observe a notable distinction between time-averaged volume flow rate and velocity in pseudo-plastic and dilatant forms. Our study also identifies that the radial velocity experiences either attenuation or enhancement due to the fluid's shear thickening and thinning characteristics. Moreover, our research uncovers a novel dimension by highlighting that in shifting from pseudo-plasticity to dilatancy, the fluid requires higher pressure to propel the bolus toward the hiatus. This observation has important implications, suggesting that feeding a more dilatant fluid to patients with pre-diagnosed swallowing disorders, such as sliding hiatus hernia, is not advisable, fearing increased pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elastohydrodynamic lubrication, or simply soft lubrication, refers to the motion of deformable objects near a boundary lubricated by a fluid, and is one of the key physical mechanisms to minimise friction and wear in natural and engineered systems. Hence, it is of particular interest to relate the thickness of the lubricant layer to the entrainment (sliding/rolling) velocity, the mechanical loading exerted onto the contacting elements and the properties of the elastic boundary. In this work, we provide an overview of the various regimes of soft lubrication for two-dimensional cylinders in lubricated contact with compliant walls. We discuss the limits of small and large entrainment velocity, which are equivalent to large and small elastic deformations, as the cylinder moves near thick or thin elastic layers. The analysis focusses on thin elastic coatings, both compressible and incompressible, for which analytical scaling laws are not yet available in the regime of large deformations. By analysing the elastohydrodynamic boundary layers that appear at the edge of the contact, we establish the missing scaling laws - including prefactors. As such, we offer a rather complete overview of the physically relevant limits of soft lubrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid particles floating at a liquid interface exhibit a long-ranged attraction mediated by surface tension. In the absence of bulk elasticity, this is the dominant lateral interaction of mechanical origin. Here, we show that an analogous long-range interaction occurs between adjacent droplets on solid substrates, which crucially relies on a combination of capillarity and bulk elasticity. We experimentally observe the interaction between droplets on soft gels and provide a theoretical framework that quantitatively predicts the interaction force between the droplets. Remarkably, we find that, although on thick substrates the interaction is purely attractive and leads to drop- drop coalescence, for relatively thin substrates a short-range repulsion occurs, which prevents the two drops from coming into direct contact. This versatile interaction is the liquid-on-solid analog of the "Cheerios effect." The effect will strongly influence the condensation and coarsening of drops on soft polymer films, and has potential implications for colloidal assembly and mechanobiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]