Interactions between comoving magnetic microswimmers.
The artificial microswimmer [R. Dreyfus, Nature (London) 437, 862 (2005)] whose mechanism of propulsion is the magnetically driven undulation of a flagellum-like tail composed of chemically linked paramagnetic beads can be used as a physical model with which to study low-Reynolds-number swimming. Understanding how such swimmers interact provides insight into the related problem of quantifying the hydrodynamic interactions between microorganisms. In this study, particle-based numerical simulations are conducted of two comoving artificial swimmers. The resulting swimming speeds are determined over a range of separations for swimmers driven by planar and rotational magnetic fields. The far-field hydrodynamic interactions are analyzed and found to decay as h(-2) where h is the separation distance. Additionally, the role of the interswimmer magnetic forces is determined.
Division of Applied Mathematics, Brown University, 182 George Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
Eric E
EE
Keaveny
Martin R
MR
Maxey
D003198:Computer Simulation; D005407:Flagella / Q000502:physiology*; D008280:Magnetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009038:Motion; D009068:Movement; D013550:Swimming