Related papers: Fluid Elasticity Can Enable Propulsion at Low Reyn…
We derive a general formula for the inertialess dynamics of active particles in linear viscoelastic fluids by means of a modified reciprocal theorem. We then demonstrate that force-free active particles in Maxwell-like linear viscoelastic…
We conduct experiments with flexible swimmers to address the impact of fluid viscoelasticity on their locomotion. The swimmers are composed of a magnetic head actuated in rotation by a frequency-controlled magnetic field and a flexible tail…
Bulk rheological properties of viscoelastic fluids have been extensively studied in macroscopic shearing geometries. However, little is known when an active microscopic probe is used to locally perturb them far from the linear-response…
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…
In the dynamics of viscous fluid, the case of vanishing kinematic viscosity is actually equivalent to the Reynolds number tending to infinity. Hence, in the limit of vanishing viscosity the fluid flow is essentially turbulent. On the other…
We propose and analyze a simple model for the evolution of an immersed, inextensible filament which incorporates linear viscoelastic effects of the surrounding fluid. The model is a closed-form system of equations along the curve only which…
Our fluid dynamics video shows the response of a layer of viscoelastic fluid to an array of four-roll mills steadily rotating underneath. When the relaxation time of the fluid is sufficiently long, the fluid divides into "cells" with a…
We consider a suspension of active rigid particles (swimmers) in a steady Stokes flow, where particles are distributed according to a stationary ergodic random process, and we study its homogenization in the macroscopic limit. A key point…
Using analytical calculations, we characterize the rotational behavior of a rigid spherical particle when subject to a net external torque in a continuous viscoelastic environment. On long time scales, the embedding medium can either…
We use numerical simulations to address locomotion at zero Reynolds number in viscoelastic (Giesekus) fluids. The swimmers are assumed to be spherical, to self-propel using tangential surface deformation, and the computations are…
Inspired by the lotus effect, many studies in the last decade have focused on micro- and nano-patterned surfaces. They revealed that patterns at the micro-scale combined with high contact angles can significantly reduce skin drag. However,…
Liquids flow, making them remarkably distinct from solids and close to gases. At the same time, interactions in liquids are strong as in solids. The combination of these two properties is believed to be the ultimate obstacle to constructing…
In thermal equilibrium, a colloidal particle between two parallel plates immersed in a fluid which partially wets both the particle and the plates, is attracted by the walls. However, if the particle moves parallel to the plates, a…
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…
Synthetic microswimmers show great promise in biomedical applications such as drug delivery and microsurgery. Their locomotion, however, is subject to stringent constraints due to the dominance of viscous over inertial forces at low…
Turbulence -- ubiquitous in nature and engineering alike [1-5] -- is traditionally viewed as an intrinsically inertial phenomenon, emerging only when the Reynolds number (Re), which quantifies the ratio of inertial to dissipative forces…
Non-Newtonian fluids have a viscosity that varies with applied stress. Elastoviscoplastic fluids, the elastic, viscous and plastic properties of which are interconnected in a non-trivial way, belong to this category. We have performed…
Manipulation of small-scale particles across streamlines is the elementary task of microfluidic devices. Many such devices operate at very low Reynolds numbers and deflect particles using arrays of obstacles, but a systematic quantification…
Hydrodynamic interactions are crucial for determining the cooperative behavior of microswimmers at low Reynolds numbers. Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of the scaling and strength of the interactions in the case of a pair of…
The dynamics and deformations of immersed flexible fibers are at the heart of important industrial and biological processes, induce peculiar mechanical and transport properties in the fluids that contain them, and are the basis for novel…