14,915 research outputs found
Rational design and dynamics of self-propelled colloidal bead chains: from rotators to flagella
The quest for designing new self-propelled colloids is fuelled by the demand
for simple experimental models to study the collective behaviour of their more
complex natural counterparts. Most synthetic self-propelled particles move by
converting the input energy into translational motion. In this work we address
the question if simple self-propelled spheres can assemble into more complex
structures that exhibit rotational motion, possibly coupled with translational
motion as in flagella. We exploit a combination of induced dipolar interactions
and a bonding step to create permanent linear bead chains, composed of
self-propelled Janus spheres, with a well-controlled internal structure. Next,
we study how flexibility between individual swimmers in a chain can affect its
swimming behaviour. Permanent rigid chains showed only active rotational or
spinning motion, whereas longer semi-flexible chains showed both translational
and rotational motion resembling flagella like-motion, in the presence of the
fuel. Moreover, we are able to reproduce our experimental results using
numerical calculations with a minimal model, which includes full hydrodynamic
interactions with the fluid. Our method is general and opens a new way to
design novel self-propelled colloids with complex swimming behaviours, using
different complex starting building blocks in combination with the flexibility
between them.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure
Towards the development of a smart flying sensor: illustration in the field of precision agriculture
Sensing is an important element to quantify productivity, product quality and to make decisions. Applications, such as mapping, surveillance, exploration and precision agriculture, require a reliable platform for remote sensing. This paper presents the first steps towards the development of a smart flying sensor based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The concept of smart remote sensing is illustrated and its performance tested for the task of mapping the volume of grain inside a trailer during forage harvesting. Novelty lies in: (1) the development of a position-estimation method with time delay compensation based on inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors and image processing; (2) a method to build a 3D map using information obtained from a regular camera; and (3) the design and implementation of a path-following control algorithm using model predictive control (MPC). Experimental results on a lab-scale system validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology
Inertial-sensor bias estimation from brightness/depth images and based on SO(3)-invariant integro/partial-differential equations on the unit sphere
Constant biases associated to measured linear and angular velocities of a
moving object can be estimated from measurements of a static scene by embedded
brightness and depth sensors. We propose here a Lyapunov-based observer taking
advantage of the SO(3)-invariance of the partial differential equations
satisfied by the measured brightness and depth fields. The resulting asymptotic
observer is governed by a non-linear integro/partial differential system where
the two independent scalar variables indexing the pixels live on the unit
sphere of the 3D Euclidian space. The observer design and analysis are strongly
simplified by coordinate-free differential calculus on the unit sphere equipped
with its natural Riemannian structure. The observer convergence is investigated
under C^1 regularity assumptions on the object motion and its scene. It relies
on Ascoli-Arzela theorem and pre-compactness of the observer trajectories. It
is proved that the estimated biases converge towards the true ones, if and only
if, the scene admits no cylindrical symmetry. The observer design can be
adapted to realistic sensors where brightness and depth data are only available
on a subset of the unit sphere. Preliminary simulations with synthetic
brightness and depth images (corrupted by noise around 10%) indicate that such
Lyapunov-based observers should be robust and convergent for much weaker
regularity assumptions.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures, submitte
Dynamic characterization of cellulose nanofibrils in sheared and extended semi-dilute dispersions
New materials made through controlled assembly of dispersed cellulose
nanofibrils (CNF) has the potential to develop into biobased competitors to
some of the highest performing materials today. The performance of these new
cellulose materials depends on how easily CNF alignment can be controlled with
hydrodynamic forces, which are always in competition with a different process
driving the system towards isotropy, called rotary diffusion. In this work, we
present a flow-stop experiment using polarized optical microscopy (POM) to
study the rotary diffusion of CNF dispersions in process relevant flows and
concentrations. This is combined with small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS)
experiments to analyze the true orientation distribution function (ODF) of the
flowing fibrils. It is found that the rotary diffusion process of CNF occurs at
multiple time scales, where the fastest scale seems to be dependent on the
deformation history of the dispersion before the stop. At the same time, the
hypothesis that rotary diffusion is dependent on the initial ODF does not hold
as the same distribution can result in different diffusion time scales. The
rotary diffusion is found to be faster in flows dominated by shear compared to
pure extensional flows. Furthermore, the experimental setup can be used to
quickly characterize the dynamic properties of flowing CNF and thus aid in
determining the quality of the dispersion and its usability in material
processes.Comment: 45 pages, 13 figure
- …