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Granular intrusion is commonly observed in natural and human-made settings. Unlike typical solids and fluids, granular media can simultaneously display fluid-like and solid-like characteristics in a variety of intrusion scenarios. This…
There is increasing evidence that mammalian cells not only crawl on substrates but can also swim in fluids. To elucidate the mechanisms of the onset of motility of cells in suspension, a model which couples actin and myosin kinetics to…
We investigate the motion of groups of intruders in a two-dimensional granular system by using discrete numerical simulations. By imposing either a constant velocity or a thrusting force on larger disks (intruders) that move within smaller…
We have studied the effect of small amounts of added liquid on the dynamic behavior of a granular system consisting of spherical glass beads. The critical acceleration $\Gamma$ for fluidization is found to increase strongly when liquid is…
A new framework for two-fluids flow using a Finite Element/Level Set method is presented and verified through the simulation of the rising of a bubble in a viscous fluid. This model is then enriched to deal with vesicles (which mimic red…
We present a multiscale simulation algorithm for amorphous materials, which we illustrate and validate in a canonical case of dense granular flow. Our algorithm is based on the recently proposed Spot Model, where particles in a dense random…
Several micro-organisms, such as bacteria, algae, or spermatozoa, use flagella or cilia to swim in a fluid, while many other micro-organisms instead use ample shape deformation, described as amoeboid, to propel themselves by either crawling…
We introduce and demonstrate the coarse-graining of static and dynamical properties of host-guest systems constituted by methane in two different microporous materials. The reference systems are mapped to occupancy-based pore-scale lattice…
We investigate the link between particle-scale dynamics and bulk behaviors of thickly-coated particle-fluid flows using computational simulations. We find that, similar to dense fully-saturated slurries, the form the rheology takes in these…
An analytical theory is developed to describe the dynamics of a closed lipid bilayer membrane (vesicle) freely suspended in a general linear flow. Considering a nearly spherical shape, the solution to the creeping-flow equations is obtained…
Motivated by recent advances in the investigation of fluctuation-driven ratchets and flows in excited granular media, we have carried out experimental and simulational studies to explore the horizontal transport of granular particles in a…
Experiments on a thin layer of cohesive wet granular matter under vertical vibrations reveal kink separated domains that collide with the container at different phases. Due to the strong cohesion arising from the formation of liquid bridges…
Various microorganisms and some mammalian cells are able to swim in viscous fluids by performing nonreciprocal body deformations, such as rotating attached flagella or by distorting their entire body. In order to perform chemotaxis, i.e. to…
Unicellular microscopic organisms living in aqueous environments outnumber all other creatures on Earth. A large proportion of them are able to self-propel in fluids with a vast diversity of swimming gaits and motility patterns. In this…
Hydrodynamics and confinement dominate bacterial mobility near solid or air-water boundaries, causing flagellated bacteria to move in circular trajectories. This phenomenon results from the counter-rotation between the bacterial body and…
Worm-inspired robots provide an effective locomotion strategy for constrained environments by combining cyclic body deformation with alternating anchoring. For compliant robots, however, the interaction between deformable anchoring…
The motion of biological micro-robots -- similar to that of swimming microorganisms such as bacteria or spermatozoa -- is governed by different physical rules than what we experience in our daily life. This is particularly due to the…
The enteric bacterium Proteus mirabilis, which is a pathogen that forms biofilms in vivo, can swarm over hard surfaces and form concentric ring patterns in colonies. Colony formation involves two distinct cell types: swarmer cells that…
Undulatory locomotion is a means of self-propulsion that relies on the generation and propagation of waves along a body. As a mode of locomotion it is primitive and relatively simple, yet can be remarkably robust. No wonder then, that it is…
Granular media such as sand and sugar are ubiquitous in nature and industry but are less well understood than fluids or solids. We consider the behavior of rapid granular flows where the transfer of momenta by collisions dominates. The…