Related papers: A basic swimmer at low Reynolds number
We investigate theoretically the collective dynamics of a suspension of low Reynolds number swimmers that are confined to two dimensions by a thin fluid film. Our model swimmer is characterized by internal degrees of freedom which locally…
A simple analytical model for a turbulent flow is proposed, which considers the flow as a collection of localized spatial structures that are composed of elementary "cells" in which the state of the particles (atoms or molecules) is…
One of the principal mechanisms by which surfaces and interfaces affect microbial life is by perturbing the hydrodynamic flows generated by swimming. By summing a recursive series of image systems we derive a numerically tractable…
Optimal gait design is important for micro-organisms and micro-robots that propel themselves in a fluid environment in the absence of external force or torque. The simplest models of shape changes are those that comprise a series of…
Among several models for microswimmers, the three-sphere microswimmer proposed by Najafi and Golestanian captures the essential mechanism for the locomotion of a microswimmer in a viscous fluid. Owing to its simplicity and flexibility, the…
Low Reynolds number direct simulations of large populations of hydrodynamically interacting swimming particles confined between planar walls are performed. The results of simulations are compared with a theory that describes dilute…
Swimming at a micrometer scale demands particular strategies. Indeed when inertia is negligible as compared to viscous forces (i.e. Reynolds number $Re$ is lower than unity), hydrodynamics equations are reversible in time. To achieve…
When a microorganism begins swimming from rest in a Newtonian fluid such as water, it rapidly attains its steady-state swimming speed since changes in the velocity field spread quickly when the Reynolds number is small. However, swimming…
The fluidic pinball is a geometrically simple flow configuration with three rotating cylinders on the vertex of an equilateral triangle. Yet, it remains physically rich enough to host a range of interacting frequencies and to allow testing…
Efficient locomotion is important for the evolution of complex life, yet the physical principles selecting specific swimming strokes often remain entangled with biological constraints. In viscous fluids, the scallop theorem constrains the…
We derive from first principles a three-dimensional theory of self-propelled particle swarming in a viscous fluid environment. Our model predicts emergent collective behavior that depends critically on fluid opacity, mechanism of…
Previous studies on peristalsis, the pumping of fluid along a channel by wave-like displacements of the channel walls, have shown that the elastic properties of the channel and the peristaltic wave shape can influence the flow rate.…
Locomotion on small scales is dominated by the effects of viscous forces and, as a result, is subject to strong physical and mathematical constraints. Following Purcell's statement of the scallop theorem which delimitates the types of…
The controllability of a fully three-dimensional $N$-link swimmer is studied. After deriving the equations of motion in a low Reynolds number fluid by means of Resistive Force Theory, the controllability of the minimal $2$-link swimmer is…
By numerical modeling we investigate fluid transport in low-Reynolds-number flow achieved with a special elastic filament or artifical cilium attached to a planar surface. The filament is made of superparamagnetic particles linked together…
A recently introduced model for an autonomous swimmer at low Reynolds number that is comprised of three spheres connected by two arms is considered when one of the spheres has a large radius. The Stokes hydrodynamic flow associated with the…
We illustrate a concept for shape-changing microswimmers, which exploits the hysteresis of a shape transition of an elastic object, by an elastic disk undergoing cyclic localized swelling. Driving the control parameter of a hysteretic shape…
Hydrodynamic forces acting on a neutrally-buoyant spherical particle immersed in a wall-bounded axisymmetric stagnation point flow (Hiemenz-Homann flow) are predicted, based on a suitable form of the reciprocal theorem. An approximate…
We introduce and investigate the wellposedness of a model describing the self-propelled motion of a small abstract swimmer in the 3-D incompressible fluid governed by the nonstationary Stokes equation, typically associated with the low…
Biological organisms swimming at low Reynolds number are often influenced by the presence of rigid boundaries and soft interfaces. In this paper we present an analysis of locomotion near a free surface with surface tension. Using a…