Abstract
Micromotors are widely used in cell operation, drug delivery and environmental decontamination due to their small size, low energy consumption and large propelling power. Compared to traditional Janus micromotor, the shell Janus micromotor has better motion performance. However, the structural optimization of its motion performance is still unclear. The main factor restricting the motion performance of shell Janus micromotors is the drag forces. In the current work, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation were applied to analyze the drag forces of shell Janus micromotors. This study aims to design the optimum structure of shell Janus micromotors with minimum drag forces and obtain the magnitude of drag forces considering both the internal and external fluids of the shell Janus micromotors. Moreover, the influence of the motor geometry and Reynolds number on the drag coefficient was analyzed using numerical simulations. The results provide guidance for the optimum flow velocity, opening diameter and shell thickness to achieve minimum drag force.
Highlights
Micromotors are micro-scale devices with small size, low energy consumption and large propelling power
The drag force was proportional to the Reynolds number (a)
The value of ξ used in the literature is 0.57, which lies within the range of 0.5–0.6. This shows that the proposed shell Janus micromotor does fulfill this criterion. These results show that the thickness of the shell Janus micromotor has a great influence on the micromotor’s motion performance
Summary
Micromotors are micro-scale devices with small size, low energy consumption and large propelling power. Bubble-driven micromotors are divided into tubular micromotors [4,5,6,7], Janus micromotors (Janus particles) [8,9], shell Janus micromotors [10,11] and other irregular microswimmers [12,13], according to their shape [14,15]. They have gained more attention due to their excellent motion performances and biological applications. Shell Janus micromotors are faster and more efficient than the Janus
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