7,698 research outputs found
Clustering of microswimmers: Interplay of shape and hydrodynamics
The spatiotemporal dynamics in systems of active self-propelled particles is
controlled by the propulsion mechanism in combination with various direct
interactions, such as steric repulsion, hydrodynamics, and chemical fields.
Yet, these direct interactions are typically anisotropic, and come in different
'flavors', such as spherical and elongated particle shapes for steric
repulsion, pusher and puller flow fields for hydrodynamics, etc. The
combination of the various aspects is expected to lead to new emergent
behavior. However, it is a priori not evident whether shape and hydrodynamics
act synergistically or antagonistically to generate motility-induced clustering
(MIC) and phase separation (MIPS). We employ a model of prolate spheroidal
microswimmers - called squirmers - in quasi-two-dimensional confinement to
address this issue by mesoscale hydrodynamic simulations. For comparison,
non-hydrodynamic active Brownian particles (ABPs) are considered to elucidate
the contribution of hydrodynamic interactions on MIC and MIPS. For spherical
particles, the comparison between ABP and hydrodynamic-squirmer ensembles
reveals a suppression of MIPS due to hydrodynamic interactions. The fundamental
difference between ABPs and squirmers is attributed to an increased
reorientation of squirmers by hydrodynamic torques during their collisions. In
contrast, for elongated squirmers, hydrodynamics interactions enhance MIPS.
Thus, hydrodynamic interactions show opposing effects on MIPS for spherical and
elongated microswimmers
Physics of Microswimmers - Single Particle Motion and Collective Behavior
Locomotion and transport of microorganisms in fluids is an essential aspect
of life. Search for food, orientation toward light, spreading of off-spring,
and the formation of colonies are only possible due to locomotion. Swimming at
the microscale occurs at low Reynolds numbers, where fluid friction and
viscosity dominates over inertia. Here, evolution achieved propulsion
mechanisms, which overcome and even exploit drag. Prominent propulsion
mechanisms are rotating helical flagella, exploited by many bacteria, and
snake-like or whip-like motion of eukaryotic flagella, utilized by sperm and
algae. For artificial microswimmers, alternative concepts to convert chemical
energy or heat into directed motion can be employed, which are potentially more
efficient. The dynamics of microswimmers comprises many facets, which are all
required to achieve locomotion. In this article, we review the physics of
locomotion of biological and synthetic microswimmers, and the collective
behavior of their assemblies. Starting from individual microswimmers, we
describe the various propulsion mechanism of biological and synthetic systems
and address the hydrodynamic aspects of swimming. This comprises
synchronization and the concerted beating of flagella and cilia. In addition,
the swimming behavior next to surfaces is examined. Finally, collective and
cooperate phenomena of various types of isotropic and anisotropic swimmers with
and without hydrodynamic interactions are discussed.Comment: 54 pages, 59 figures, review article, Reports of Progress in Physics
(to appear
Towards Autonomous Selective Harvesting: A Review of Robot Perception, Robot Design, Motion Planning and Control
This paper provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in selective
harvesting robots (SHRs) and their potential for addressing the challenges of
global food production. SHRs have the potential to increase productivity,
reduce labour costs, and minimise food waste by selectively harvesting only
ripe fruits and vegetables. The paper discusses the main components of SHRs,
including perception, grasping, cutting, motion planning, and control. It also
highlights the challenges in developing SHR technologies, particularly in the
areas of robot design, motion planning and control. The paper also discusses
the potential benefits of integrating AI and soft robots and data-driven
methods to enhance the performance and robustness of SHR systems. Finally, the
paper identifies several open research questions in the field and highlights
the need for further research and development efforts to advance SHR
technologies to meet the challenges of global food production. Overall, this
paper provides a starting point for researchers and practitioners interested in
developing SHRs and highlights the need for more research in this field.Comment: Preprint: to be appeared in Journal of Field Robotic
Filament mechanics in a half-space via regularised Stokeslet segments
We present a generalisation of efficient numerical frameworks for modelling
fluid-filament interactions via the discretisation of a recently-developed,
non-local integral equation formulation to incorporate regularised Stokeslets
with half-space boundary conditions, as motivated by the importance of
confining geometries in many applications. We proceed to utilise this framework
to examine the drag on slender inextensible filaments moving near a boundary,
firstly with a relatively-simple example, evaluating the accuracy of resistive
force theories near boundaries using regularised Stokeslet segments. This
highlights that resistive force theories do not accurately quantify filament
dynamics in a range of circumstances, even with analytical corrections for the
boundary. However, there is the notable and important exception of movement in
a plane parallel to the boundary, where accuracy is maintained. In particular,
this justifies the judicious use of resistive force theories in examining the
mechanics of filaments and monoflagellate microswimmers with planar flagellar
patterns moving parallel to boundaries. We proceed to apply the numerical
framework developed here to consider how filament elastohydrodynamics can
impact drag near a boundary, analysing in detail the complex responses of a
passive cantilevered filament to an oscillatory flow. In particular, we
document the emergence of an asymmetric periodic beating in passive filaments
in particular parameter regimes, which are remarkably similar to the power and
reverse strokes exhibited by motile 9+2 cilia. Furthermore, these changes in
the morphology of the filament beating, arising from the fluid-structure
interactions, also induce a significant increase in the hydrodynamic drag of
the filament.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures. Supplementary Material available upon reques
Solar Magnetic Tracking. I. Software Comparison and Recommended Practices
Feature tracking and recognition are increasingly common tools for data
analysis, but are typically implemented on an ad-hoc basis by individual
research groups, limiting the usefulness of derived results when selection
effects and algorithmic differences are not controlled. Specific results that
are affected include the solar magnetic turnover time, the distributions of
sizes, strengths, and lifetimes of magnetic features, and the physics of both
small scale flux emergence and the small-scale dynamo. In this paper, we
present the results of a detailed comparison between four tracking codes
applied to a single set of data from SOHO/MDI, describe the interplay between
desired tracking behavior and parameterization of tracking algorithms, and make
recommendations for feature selection and tracking practice in future work.Comment: In press for Astrophys. J. 200
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