Enhanced motility of a microswimmer in rigid and elastic confinement

Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, Julia Yeomans

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We analyze the effect of confining rigid and elastic boundaries on the motility of a model dipolar microswimmer. Flexible boundaries are deformed by the velocity field of the swimmer in such a way that the motility of both extensile and contractile swimmers is enhanced. The magnitude of the increase in swimming velocity is controlled by the ratio of the swimmer-advection and elastic time scales, and the dipole moment of the swimmer. We explain our results by considering swimming between inclined rigid boundaries.
Original languageEnglish
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume111
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

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