title: Optimal translational swimming of a sphere at low Reynolds number.
abstract: Swimming velocity and rate of dissipation of a sphere with surface distortions are discussed on the basis of the Stokes equations of low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamics. At first the surface distortions are assumed to cause an irrotational axisymmetric flow pattern. The efficiency of swimming is optimized within this class of flows. Subsequently, more general axisymmetric polar flows with vorticity are considered. This leads to a considerably higher maximum efficiency. An additional measure of swimming performance is proposed based on the energy consumption for given amplitude of stroke.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Theorie der Statistischen Physik, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: B U
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Felderhof
authors.affiliation: Queen Mary University of London, The School of Physics and Astronomy, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009038:Motion; D013550:Swimming; D014783:Viscosity