Related papers: Flagellated bacterial motility in polymer solution…
Bacterial motility, and in particular repulsion or attraction towards specific chemicals, has been a subject of investigation for over 100 years, resulting in detailed understanding of bacterial chemotaxis and the corresponding sensory…
The rotary motor of bacteria is a natural nano-technological marvel that enables cell locomotion by powering the rotation of semi-rigid helical flagellar filaments in fluid environments. It is well known that the motor operates essentially…
Traditional locomotion strategies become ineffective at low Reynolds numbers, where viscous forces predominate over inertial forces. To adapt, microorganisms have evolved specialized structures like cilia and flagella for efficient…
The behaviour of semi-dilute wormlike micelle solutions under vertical vibrations is investigated using classical measurements of the Faraday instability threshold along with two new experiments based on particle imaging velocimetry and…
We investigate the sedimentation and vertical hydraulic transport of irregular polymetallic nodules (PMNs) using resolved CFD-DEM with multisphere particles spanning $100 < Re_p < 3000$. Shape effects induce 2.0-2.3 times drag enhancement…
Experimental studies have demonstrated that spermatozoa synchronize their flagella when swimming in close proximity. In a Newtonian fluid, it was shown theoretically that such synchronization arises passively due to hydrodynamic forces…
Many eukaryotic cells use the active waving motion of flexible flagella to self-propel in viscous fluids. However, the criteria governing the selection of particular flagellar waveforms among all possible shapes has proved elusive so far.…
The bacterial flagellar motor drives the rotation of flagellar filaments and enables many species of bacteria to swim. Torque is generated by interaction of stator units, anchored to the peptidoglycan cell wall, with the rotor. Recent…
It is presently believed that flows of viscoelastic polymer solutions in geometries such as a straight pipe or channel are linearly stable. Here we present experimental evidence that such flows can be nonlinearly unstable and can exhibit a…
Velocity relaxation of a spherically symmetric polymer, immersed in a viscous incompressible fluid, and after a sudden small impulse or a sudden twist from a state of rest, is studied on the basis of the linearized Navier-Stokes equations…
Solutions of long, flexible polymer molecules are complex fluids that simultaneously exhibit fluid-like and solid-like behaviour. When subjected to an external flow, dilute polymer solutions exhibit elastic turbulence - a unique, chaotic…
We show that non-entangled polymers display an elastic-like behaviour at a macroscopic scale (probed at some 0.100 mm thickness) up to at least hundred degrees above the glass transition temperature. This observation, found under…
Many biological fluids are composed of suspended polymers immersed in a viscous fluid. A prime example is mucus, where the polymers are also known to form a network. While the presence of this microstructure is linked with an overall…
Laboratory experiments were conducted to study particle migration and flow properties of non- Brownian, non-colloidal suspensions ranging from 10% to 40% particle volume fraction in a pressure-driven flow over and through a porous structure…
In several biologically relevant situations, cell locomotion occurs in polymeric fluids with Weissenberg {number} larger than one. Here we present results of three-dimensional numerical simulations for the steady locomotion of a…
In this paper, we present a molecular theory analysis of ions and potential distribution, degree of ionization of polyelectrolyte (PE) brushes, velocity profile, volumetric flow rate, ionic selectivity, ionic conduction and advection by…
The present habilitation thesis in theoretical biological physics addresses two central dynamical processes in cells and organisms: (i) active motility and motility control and (ii) self-organized pattern formation. The unifying theme is…
We study the microscale propulsion of a rotating helical filament confined by a cylindrical tube, using a boundary-element method for Stokes flow that accounts for helical symmetry. We determine the effect of confinement on swimming speed…
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…
The habitat of microorganisms is typically complex and viscoelastic. A natural question arises: Do polymers in a suspension of active swimmers enhance chaotic motion or promote orientational order? We address this issue by performing…