Version 1
: Received: 3 September 2024 / Approved: 3 September 2024 / Online: 3 September 2024 (18:14:47 CEST)
How to cite:
Bolívar-Vivas, M.; Serrano-Balbontín, A. J.; Tejado, I.; Vinagre, B. M. Flagellar Microswimmer with One-point Actuation: Effects of Non-uniform Mass and Elasticity on Propulsion. Preprints2024, 2024090263. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0263.v1
Bolívar-Vivas, M.; Serrano-Balbontín, A. J.; Tejado, I.; Vinagre, B. M. Flagellar Microswimmer with One-point Actuation: Effects of Non-uniform Mass and Elasticity on Propulsion. Preprints 2024, 2024090263. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0263.v1
Bolívar-Vivas, M.; Serrano-Balbontín, A. J.; Tejado, I.; Vinagre, B. M. Flagellar Microswimmer with One-point Actuation: Effects of Non-uniform Mass and Elasticity on Propulsion. Preprints2024, 2024090263. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0263.v1
APA Style
Bolívar-Vivas, M., Serrano-Balbontín, A. J., Tejado, I., & Vinagre, B. M. (2024). Flagellar Microswimmer with One-point Actuation: Effects of Non-uniform Mass and Elasticity on Propulsion. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0263.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Bolívar-Vivas, M., Inés Tejado and Blas M. Vinagre. 2024 "Flagellar Microswimmer with One-point Actuation: Effects of Non-uniform Mass and Elasticity on Propulsion" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0263.v1
Abstract
Microscale swimmers have to face the dominance of viscous forces over inertial forces, the so-called low Reynolds number (hereafter Re) regime. The undulatory motion of an elastic tail is one of the few possible mechanisms for the self-propulsion of microswimmers in the particular conditions of low Re. Instead of using a complex arrangement of multiple actuators along the body of the swimmer, this work studies the propulsion of a swimming microrobot that is able to generate a non-reciprocal motion by moving a passive elastic tail with non-uniform properties using only a single actuator located at its head. A simulation model is developed in MATLAB to evaluate the effect of different mass and elasticity distributions in the tail on the microrobot propulsion. The results are used to observe the undulating motion of the tail and to optimize the design of the robotic microswimmers in terms of efficiency.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.