284 research outputs found
No many-scallop theorem: Collective locomotion of reciprocal swimmers
To achieve propulsion at low Reynolds number, a swimmer must deform in a way
that is not invariant under time-reversal symmetry; this result is known as the
scallop theorem. We show here that there is no many-scallop theorem. We
demonstrate that two active particles undergoing reciprocal deformations can
swim collectively; moreover, polar particles also experience effective
long-range interactions. These results are derived for a minimal dimers model,
and generalized to more complex geometries on the basis of symmetry and scaling
arguments. We explain how such cooperative locomotion can be realized
experimentally by shaking a collection of soft particles with a homogeneous
external field
Low-Reynolds number swimming in gels
Many microorganisms swim through gels, materials with nonzero zero-frequency
elastic shear modulus, such as mucus. Biological gels are typically
heterogeneous, containing both a structural scaffold (network) and a fluid
solvent. We analyze the swimming of an infinite sheet undergoing transverse
traveling wave deformations in the "two-fluid" model of a gel, which treats the
network and solvent as two coupled elastic and viscous continuum phases. We
show that geometric nonlinearities must be incorporated to obtain physically
meaningful results. We identify a transition between regimes where the network
deforms to follow solvent flows and where the network is stationary. Swimming
speeds can be enhanced relative to Newtonian fluids when the network is
stationary. Compressibility effects can also enhance swimming velocities.
Finally, microscopic details of sheet-network interactions influence the
boundary conditions between the sheet and network. The nature of these boundary
conditions significantly impacts swimming speeds.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to EP
Sensing in the mouth: A model for filiform papillae as strain amplifiers
Texture perception of foods is a common yet remarkably unstudied biophysical problem. Motivated by recent experiments reporting the presence of corpuscular endings in tongue filiform papillae, we develop in this work a mechanical model of the human tongue covered with filiform papillae in the form of elastic beams. Considering the typical flows that occur in the mouth during oral evaluation of Newtonian liquids, we suggest that filiform papillae may act either as direct strain sensors and/or as indirect strain amplifiers for the underlying mucosal tissue. Application of this model may also be valid for other biological appendages, such as primary cilliae and superficial neuromasts.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Frontiers via http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2016.0003
Jet propulsion without inertia
A body immersed in a highly viscous fluid can locomote by drawing in and
expelling fluid through pores at its surface. We consider this mechanism of jet
propulsion without inertia in the case of spheroidal bodies, and derive both
the swimming velocity and the hydrodynamic efficiency. Elementary examples are
presented, and exact axisymmetric solutions for spherical, prolate spheroidal,
and oblate spheroidal body shapes are provided. In each case, entirely and
partially porous (i.e. jetting) surfaces are considered, and the optimal
jetting flow profiles at the surface for maximizing the hydrodynamic efficiency
are determined computationally. The maximal efficiency which may be achieved by
a sphere using such jet propulsion is 12.5%, a significant improvement upon
traditional flagella-based means of locomotion at zero Reynolds number. Unlike
other swimming mechanisms which rely on the presentation of a small cross
section in the direction of motion, the efficiency of a jetting body at low
Reynolds number increases as the body becomes more oblate, and limits to
approximately 162% in the case of a flat plate swimming along its axis of
symmetry. Our results are discussed in the light of slime extrusion mechanisms
occurring in many cyanobacteria
Slip-controlled thin film dynamics
In this study, we present a novel method to assess the slip length and the
viscosity of thin films of highly viscous Newtonian liquids. We quantitatively
analyse dewetting fronts of low molecular weight polystyrene melts on
Octadecyl- (OTS) and Dodecyltrichlorosilane (DTS) polymer brushes. Using a thin
film (lubrication) model derived in the limit of large slip lengths, we can
extract slip length and viscosity. We study polymer films with thicknesses
between 50 nm and 230 nm and various temperatures above the glass transition.
We find slip lengths from 100 nm up to 1 micron on OTS and between 300 nm and
10 microns on DTS covered silicon wafers. The slip length decreases with
temperature. The obtained values for the viscosity are consistent with
independent measurements.Comment: 4 figure
A mesoscopic model for microscale hydrodynamics and interfacial phenomena: Slip, films, and contact angle hysteresis
We present a model based on the lattice Boltzmann equation that is suitable
for the simulation of dynamic wetting. The model is capable of exhibiting
fundamental interfacial phenomena such as weak adsorption of fluid on the solid
substrate and the presence of a thin surface film within which a disjoining
pressure acts. Dynamics in this surface film, tightly coupled with
hydrodynamics in the fluid bulk, determine macroscopic properties of primary
interest: the hydrodynamic slip; the equilibrium contact angle; and the static
and dynamic hysteresis of the contact angles. The pseudo- potentials employed
for fluid-solid interactions are composed of a repulsive core and an attractive
tail that can be independently adjusted. This enables effective modification of
the functional form of the disjoining pressure so that one can vary the static
and dynamic hysteresis on surfaces that exhibit the same equilibrium contact
angle. The modeled solid-fluid interface is diffuse, represented by a wall
probability function which ultimately controls the momentum exchange between
solid and fluid phases. This approach allows us to effectively vary the slip
length for a given wettability (i.e. the static contact angle) of the solid
substrate
Mesoscopic two-phase model for describing apparent slip in micro-channel flows
The phenomenon of apparent slip in micro-channel flows is analyzed by means
of a two-phase mesoscopic lattice Boltzmann model including non-ideal
fluid-fluid and fluid-wall interactins. The weakly-inhomogeneous limit of this
model is solved analytically.
The present mesoscopic approach permits to access much larger scales than
molecular dynamics, and comparable with those attained by continuum methods.
However, at variance with the continuum approach, the existence of a gas layer
near the wall does not need to be postulated a priori, but emerges naturally
from the underlying non-ideal mesoscopic dynamics. It is therefore argued that
a mesoscopic Lattice Boltzmann approach with non-ideal fluid-fluid and
fluid-wall interactions might achieve an optimal compromise between physical
realism and computational efficiency for the study of channel micro-flows.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Scattering series in mobility problem for suspensions
The mobility problem for suspension of spherical particles immersed in an
arbitrary flow of a viscous, incompressible fluid is considered in the regime
of low Reynolds numbers. The scattering series which appears in the mobility
problem is simplified. The simplification relies on the reduction of the number
of types of single-particle scattering operators appearing in the scattering
series. In our formulation there is only one type of single-particle scattering
operator.Comment: 11 page
Floppy swimming: Viscous locomotion of actuated elastica
Actuating periodically an elastic filament in a viscous liquid generally
breaks the constraints of Purcell's scallop theorem, resulting in the
generation of a net propulsive force. This observation suggests a method to
design simple swimming devices - which we call "elastic swimmers" - where the
actuation mechanism is embedded in a solid body and the resulting swimmer is
free to move. In this paper, we study theoretically the kinematics of elastic
swimming. After discussing the basic physical picture of the phenomenon and the
expected scaling relationships, we derive analytically the elastic swimming
velocities in the limit of small actuation amplitude. The emphasis is on the
coupling between the two unknowns of the problems - namely the shape of the
elastic filament and the swimming kinematics - which have to be solved
simultaneously. We then compute the performance of the resulting swimming
device, and its dependance on geometry. The optimal actuation frequency and
body shapes are derived and a discussion of filament shapes and internal
torques is presented. Swimming using multiple elastic filaments is discussed,
and simple strategies are presented which result in straight swimming
trajectories. Finally, we compare the performance of elastic swimming with that
of swimming microorganisms.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figure
MULTIPASS: gestion des consentements pour accéder aux données des exploitations dans une chaîne de confiance afin de favoriser l'émergence de nouveaux services pour les agriculteurs
12th EFITA International Conference, Rhode island, GRC, 27-/06/2019 - 29/06/2019International audienceWith the emergence of digital technologies, farms become a relevant source of data to meet the challenges of multi-performance agriculture. Beyond the services provided, access to farmers' data depends on a clear understanding of their use, which must be done in a transparent way. Several codes of conduct at a national or international level push for a voluntary commitment to respect some good practices in the use of agricultural data. To provide a tool and answer farmer's questions on the control of their data and the transparency of the data processing, the partners of the MULTIPASS project, have imagined an interoperable ecosystem of farmer consents management, protecting farmers from no consented uses of their data.Farmers' expectations of such an ecosystem have been expressed during workshops. They want to better identify existing data flows, including actors, data processes, and data clusters. Based on the farmers' expectations, the MULTIPASS project stakeholders have proposed the architecture of an ecosystem integrating two consent management tools as "pilots". This ecosystem should take in charge the interoperability between each consent management tools or with future tools. This solution is based on a shared typology of data and data processes as well as on the specifications of the consent message content. All these elements should be easily accessible to meet the interoperability need of the ecosystem. It is also based on a router, which provides unified access to consent management tools (using API). In particular, it provides the farmer (beneficiary) with an exhaustive view of his/her consents (which can be distributed on several consent management systems), meeting farmers' expectations for transparency. It is also the point where a data provider can check whether the consent required to provide data exists, without needing to know which consent management system is concerned. In this project, the stakeholders want to demonstrate to agricultural professional organizations the benefits and feasibility of a consent management ecosystem. By strengthening the confidence of farmers to share data, the project will allow the emergence of new knowledge and new services
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