Related papers: Modelling, Controllability and Gait Design for a S…
Spherical symmetry is ubiquitous in nature. It's therefore unfortunate that spherical system simulations are so hard, and require complete spheres with millions of interacting particles. Here we introduce an approach to model spherical…
We study the behaviour of circular flexible loops sedimenting in a viscous fluid by numerical simulations and linear stability analysis. The numerical model involves a local slender-body theory approximation for the flow coupled to the…
Many microorganisms swim in fluids with complex rheological properties. Although much is now understood about motion of these swimmers in Newtonian fluids, the understanding is still developing in non-Newtonian fluids --- this understanding…
In this paper, we propose a novel approach for controlling surface water waves and their interaction with floating bodies. We consider a floating target rigid body surrounded by a control region where we design three control strategies of…
This paper addresses the problem of obtaining low-order models of fluid flows for the purpose of designing robust feedback controllers. This is challenging since whilst many flows are governed by a set of nonlinear, partial…
The elastohydrodynamics of slender bodies in a viscous fluid have long been the source of theoretical investigation, being pertinent to the microscale world of ciliates and flagellates as well as to biological and engineered active matter…
Miniature-legged robots are constrained by their onboard computation and control, thus motivating the need for simple, first-principles-based geometric models that connect \emph{periodic actuation or gaits} (a universal robot control…
The swimming of an assembly of rigid spheres immersed in a viscous fluid of infinite extent is studied in low Reynolds number hydrodynamics. The instantaneous swimming velocity and rate of dissipation are expressed in terms of the…
Aquatic locomotion is a classic fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problem of interest to biologists and engineers. Solving the fully coupled FSI equations for incompressible Navier-Stokes and finite elasticity is computationally expensive.…
This paper proposes a low order geometrically exact flexible beam formulation based on the utilisation of generic beam shape functions to approximate distributed kinematic properties of the deformed structure. The proposed nonlinear beam…
A novel nonlinear feedback control design methodology for incompressible fluid flows aiming at the optimisation of long-time averages of flow quantities is presented. It applies to reduced-order finite-dimensional models of fluid flows,…
On microscopic scales, the crystallinity of flexible tethered or cross linked membranes determines their mechanical response. We show that by controlling the type, number and distribution of defects on a spherical elastic shell, it is…
Cells swimming in viscous fluids create flow fields which influence the transport of relevant nutrients, and therefore their feeding rate. We propose a modeling approach to the problem of optimal feeding at zero Reynolds number. We consider…
Shells, when confined, can deform in a broad assortment of shapes and patterns, often quite dissimilar to what is produced by their flat counterparts (plates). In this work we discuss the morphological landscape of shells deposited on a…
We analyse the effect of confining rigid and elastic boundaries on the motility of a model dipolar microswimmer. Flexible boundaries are deformed by the velocity field of the swimmer in such a way that the motility of both extensile and…
Robotic locomotion often relies on sequenced gaits to efficiently convert control input into desired motion. Despite extensive studies on gait optimization, achieving smooth and efficient gait transitions remains challenging. In this paper,…
We propose a reciprocal, self-propelled model swimmer at intermediate Reynolds numbers ($Re$). Our swimmer consists of two unequal spheres that oscillate in antiphase generating nonlinear steady streaming (SS) flows. We show computationally…
The hydrodynamic flow field generated by self-propelled active particles and swimming microorganisms is strongly altered by the presence of nearby boundaries in a viscous flow. Using a simple model three-linked sphere swimmer, we show that…
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…
The swimming of a sphere immersed in a viscous incompressible fluid with inertia is studied for surface modulations of small amplitude on the basis of the Navier-Stokes equations. The mean swimming velocity and the mean rate of dissipation…