Sedimentation of colloidal particles near a wall: Stokesian dynamics simulations

We describe a practical approach for computing the mobility matrix of a sys tem of colloidal particles near a hard wall. The approach can be carried ou t in principle to arbitrary accuracy and number of particles. We make use o f this approach to perform Stokesian dynamics computer simulations of collo idal suspensions in both unbounded and bounded fluids. We study finite clus ters of particles sedimenting parallel to a nearby hard wall under the infl uence of a uniform force. The convergence properties of the new scheme, the effect of the wall on the colloidal dynamics, and the additional effect of interparticle and wall-particle potentials are all examined.