Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: 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 between the two swimmers if their waveforms exhibit a front–back geometrical asymmetry. Motivated by the fact that most biological fluids possess a polymeric microstructure, here we address synchronization in a viscoelastic fluid analytically. Using a two-dimensional infinite sheet model, we show that the presence of polymeric stresses removes the geometrical asymmetry constraint and therefore even symmetric swimmers synchronize. Such synchronization occurs on asymptotically faster time scales than in a Newtonian fluid, and the swimmers are seen to be driven into a stable in-phase conformation minimizing the energy dissipated in the surrounding fluid.
Source: Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Authors: GWYNN J. ELFRING, ON SHUN PAK, ERIC LAUGA
Institution: University of California San Diego
Language: English
Topic: Micro and Nano Robotics
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2126885029