Mechanical Response of a Small Swimmer Driven by Conformational Transitions
Soft Condensed Matter
2009-11-13 v1 Statistical Mechanics
Abstract
A conformation space kinetic model is constructed to drive the deformation cycle of a three-sphere swimmer to achieve propulsion at low Reynolds number. We analyze the effect of an external load on the performance of this kinetic swimmer, and show that it depends sensitively on where the force is exerted, so that there is no general force--velocity relation. We discuss how the conformational cycle of such swimmers should be designed to increase their performance in resisting forces applied at specific points.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0711.4473,
title = {Mechanical Response of a Small Swimmer Driven by Conformational Transitions},
author = {Ramin Golestanian and Armand Ajdari},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0711.4473},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
4 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett