Hydrodynamics of linked sphere model swimmers

G. P. Alexander*, C. M. Pooley, J. M. Yeomans

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We describe in detail the hydrodynamics of a simple model of linked sphere swimmers. We calculate the asymptotic form of both the time averaged flow field generated by a single swimmer and the interactions between swimmers in a dilute suspension, showing how each depends on the parameters describing the swimmer and its swimming stroke. We emphasize the importance of time reversal symmetry in determining the far field flow around a swimmer and show that the interactions between swimmers are highly dependent on the relative phase of their swimming strokes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number204108
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Volume21
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 May 2009

Keywords

  • LOW-REYNOLDS-NUMBER
  • SELF-PROPULSION
  • MICRO-SWIMMER
  • MICROORGANISMS
  • BACTERIA
  • PARTICLES
  • CELLS
  • FLOW

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