Undulatory swimming in fluids with polymer networks

Gagnon, David A.; Shen, Xing; Arratia, Paulo E.

doi:10.1209/0295-5075/104/14004

Cited by 55 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Both pushers and pullers deform the surfaces in such a way that enhances their motility. A similar microscopic mechanism is likely to underlie the enhanced motility observed in viscoelastic fluids [1,34]. We have also shown that locally inclined constrictions can enhance or hinder the motility of swimmers, depending on their swimming stroke.…”

Section: (A)] For the Top Curve In Figs 3(c) And 3(d)mentioning

confidence: 53%

Enhanced Motility of a Microswimmer in Rigid and Elastic Confinement

Ledesma‐Aguilar

Yeomans

2013

Phys. Rev. Lett.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We analyze 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 contractile swimmers is enhanced. The magnitude of the increase in swimming velocity is controlled by the ratio of the swimmer-advection and elastic time scales, and the dipole moment of the swimmer. We explain our results by considering swimming between inclined rigid boundaries.

show abstract

Section: (A)] For the Top Curve In Figs 3(c) And 3(d)mentioning

confidence: 53%

Enhanced Motility of a Microswimmer in Rigid and Elastic Confinement

Ledesma‐Aguilar

Yeomans

2013

Phys. Rev. Lett.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In fact, experiments on C. elegans in viscous fluids with embedded polymeric networks demonstrated enhanced velocities in concentrated solutions compared to semi-dilute solutions (Gagnon, Shen & Arratia 2013). Enhanced propulsion of manufactured micropropellers in gels has also been demonstrated when the size of the swimmer is of the order of the mesh size of the entangled polymer network (Ledesma-Aguilar & Yeomans 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced flagellar swimming through a compliant viscoelastic network in Stokes flow

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In many physiological settings, microorganisms must swim through viscous fluids with suspended polymeric networks whose length scales are comparable to that of the organism. Here we present a model of a flagellar swimmer moving through a compliant viscoelastic network immersed in a three-dimensional viscous fluid. The swimmer moves with a prescribed gait, exerting forces on the fluid and the heterogeneous network. The viscoelastic structural links of this network are stretched or compressed in response to the fluid flow caused by these forces, and these elastic deformations also generate forces on the viscous fluid. Here we track the swimmer as it leaves a region of Newtonian fluid, enters and moves through a heterogeneous network and finally enters a Newtonian region again. We find that stiffer networks give a boost to the velocity of the swimmer. In addition, we find that the efficiency of swimming is dependent upon the evolution of the compliant network as the swimmer progresses through it.

show abstract

“…At around 1 mm in length and 75 μm in diameter, C. elegans is significantly larger than the majority of low-Re undulatory swimmers, enabling high-resolution reconstruction and analysis of planar flow fields from particle tracking data. The resulting flow fields can be used to probe properties of both the swimmer and fluid, providing new insights into the physics of undulatory propulsion [11][12][13][14][15][18][19][20]. However, despite exhibiting a planar swimming stroke, the flow around C. elegans has a complex three-dimensional structure ( Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow analysis of the low Reynolds number swimmerC. elegans

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Swimming cells and microorganisms are a critical component of many biological processes. In order to better interpret experimental studies of low Reynolds number swimming, we combine experimental and numerical methods to perform an analysis of the flow field around the swimming nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We first use image processing and particle tracking velocimetry to extract the body shape, kinematics, and flow fields around the nematode. We then construct a three-dimensional model using the experimental swimming kinematics and employ a boundary element method to simulate flow fields, obtaining very good quantitative agreement with experiment. We use this numerical model to show that calculation of flow shear rates using purely planar data results in significant underestimates of the true three-dimensional value. Applying symmetry arguments, validated against numerics, we demonstrate that the out-of-plane contribution can be accounted for via incompressibility and therefore simply calculated from particle tracking velocimetry. Our results show how fundamental fluid mechanics considerations may be used to improve the accuracy of measurements in biofluiddynamics.

show abstract

Undulatory swimming in fluids with polymer networks

Cited by 55 publications

References 31 publications

Enhanced Motility of a Microswimmer in Rigid and Elastic Confinement

Enhanced Motility of a Microswimmer in Rigid and Elastic Confinement

Enhanced flagellar swimming through a compliant viscoelastic network in Stokes flow

Flow analysis of the low Reynolds number swimmerC. elegans

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About