1. Minimal design of a synthetic cilium
- Author
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Clément Moreau, Benjamin J. Walker, Rebecca N. Poon, Daniel Soto, Daniel I. Goldman, Eamonn A. Gaffney, and Kirsty Y. Wan
- Subjects
Physics ,QC1-999 - Abstract
We study a slender filament beating in a viscous fluid with novel curvature-dependent bending stiffness. Our numerical and experimental investigations reveal that such differential stiffness can sustain planar bending waves far along flexible filaments, in stark contrast to the uniform-stiffness case which requires more sophisticated control. In particular, we establish basal actuation as a viable, parsimonious mechanism for generating high-amplitude planar bending waves. Moreover, the resulting beat patterns closely resemble the power-and-recovery strokes of propulsive biological filaments such as cilia, suggesting extensive applications in robotic and engineered systems.
- Published
- 2024
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