Abstract
The dynamics of a triangular magnetocapillary swimmer is studied using the lattice Boltzmann method. We extend on our previous work, which deals with the self-assembly and a specific type of the swimmer motion characterized by the swimmer’s maximum velocity centred around the particle’s inverse viscous time. Here, we identify additional regimes of motion. First, modifying the ratio of surface tension and magnetic forces allows to study the swimmer propagation in the regime of significantly lower frequencies mainly defined by the strength of the magnetocapillary potential. Second, introducing a constant magnetic contribution in each of the particles in addition to their magnetic moment induced by external fields leads to another regime characterized by strong in-plane swimmer reorientations that resemble experimental observations.Graphic
Highlights
Understanding the mechanisms of swimming motion of microorganisms and cells at low Reynolds number is the key to new technologies in biological and medical applications [1,2,3]
We note that the external magnetic field B is homogeneous (∇(μi · B) = 0)); the magnetic forces (Eq (6)) appear solely as a result of the magnetic dipolar interaction
Using the lattice Boltzmann method with the Shan– Chen model for the fluid–fluid interface, we demonstrate three different regimes of stable swimmer motion: the regime with magnetic particles at high (i) and low (ii) frequencies and (iii) the regime of magnetic particles with a small internal ferromagnetic contribution at low frequencies
Summary
Understanding the mechanisms of swimming motion of microorganisms and cells at low Reynolds number is the key to new technologies in biological and medical applications [1,2,3]. The motion is induced by applying periodically altered magnetic fields along the interface, and it can self-propel in a linear [14] or a triangular configuration [15] or perform fully controlled rotations at the interface [16] offering a number of potential applications. These include the transport of cargo particles or interfacial mixing [17]
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