Energetic cost of microswimmer navigation: The role of body shape
We study the energetic efficiency of navigating microswimmers by explicitly taking into account the geometry of their body. We show that, whereas arguments based solely on propulsion efficiency lead one to conclude that needle-like swimmers are most energetically efficient, disk-like swimmers rotate...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Physical Review Research |
| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013274 |
| _version_ | 1797210257413373952 |
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| author | Lorenzo Piro Andrej Vilfan Ramin Golestanian Benoît Mahault |
| author_facet | Lorenzo Piro Andrej Vilfan Ramin Golestanian Benoît Mahault |
| author_sort | Lorenzo Piro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We study the energetic efficiency of navigating microswimmers by explicitly taking into account the geometry of their body. We show that, whereas arguments based solely on propulsion efficiency lead one to conclude that needle-like swimmers are most energetically efficient, disk-like swimmers rotated by flow gradients naturally follow time-optimal trajectories. The coupling between body geometry and hydrodynamics thus leads to a generic trade-off between the energetic costs associated with propulsion and navigation, which is accompanied by the selection of a finite optimal aspect ratio. We derive from optimal control theory the steering policy ensuring overall minimum energy dissipation, and characterize how navigation performances vary with the swimmer shape. Our results highlight the important role of the swimmer geometry in realistic navigation scenarios. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:07:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bbe0e3e616e14803a1c9085e4b36506b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2643-1564 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:07:43Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Physical Review Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-bbe0e3e616e14803a1c9085e4b36506b2024-04-12T17:40:20ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642024-03-016101327410.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013274Energetic cost of microswimmer navigation: The role of body shapeLorenzo PiroAndrej VilfanRamin GolestanianBenoît MahaultWe study the energetic efficiency of navigating microswimmers by explicitly taking into account the geometry of their body. We show that, whereas arguments based solely on propulsion efficiency lead one to conclude that needle-like swimmers are most energetically efficient, disk-like swimmers rotated by flow gradients naturally follow time-optimal trajectories. The coupling between body geometry and hydrodynamics thus leads to a generic trade-off between the energetic costs associated with propulsion and navigation, which is accompanied by the selection of a finite optimal aspect ratio. We derive from optimal control theory the steering policy ensuring overall minimum energy dissipation, and characterize how navigation performances vary with the swimmer shape. Our results highlight the important role of the swimmer geometry in realistic navigation scenarios.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013274 |
| spellingShingle | Lorenzo Piro Andrej Vilfan Ramin Golestanian Benoît Mahault Energetic cost of microswimmer navigation: The role of body shape Physical Review Research |
| title | Energetic cost of microswimmer navigation: The role of body shape |
| title_full | Energetic cost of microswimmer navigation: The role of body shape |
| title_fullStr | Energetic cost of microswimmer navigation: The role of body shape |
| title_full_unstemmed | Energetic cost of microswimmer navigation: The role of body shape |
| title_short | Energetic cost of microswimmer navigation: The role of body shape |
| title_sort | energetic cost of microswimmer navigation the role of body shape |
| url | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013274 |
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