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Movement of Microswimmers at Low Reynolds Numbers
- 1 Georgia W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, the United States
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This paper explores the movement mechanisms of microswimmers in low Reynolds number environments by analyzing key physical concepts, microbial swimming mechanisms, and methods of calculating swimming speed. The study is based on three significant documents: “Life at Low Reynolds Number,” “The Hydrodynamics of Swimming Microorganisms,” and “A Mathematical Explanation of an Increase in Bacterial Swimming Speed with Viscosity in Linear-Polymer Solutions.” The main focus is on understanding how microorganisms adapt to their environment. Methods for calculating swimming speed were translated into MATLAB code to simulate the effect of angle on swimming speed, and a model confirming microbial movement was designed through SOLIDWORKS and 3D printing. Two experiments using the model were conducted in two different fluid environments. The result demonstrated the influence of different fluid viscosity on swimming velocity and stability. Computational simulations and experiments offered valuable insights into the swimming mechanisms of microorganisms in surroundings with low Reynolds numbers.
Keywords
Computational Fluid Dynamics, Biophysics, Mathematical Modeling
[1]. E. M. Purcell. Life at Low Reynolds Number. Lyman Laboratory, Harvard University, June 1976.
[2]. BERG, H., TURNER, L. Movement of microorganisms in viscous environments. Nature 278, 349–351 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/278349a
[3]. Abu-Ashour, J., Joy, D.M., Lee, H. et al. Transport of microorganisms through soil. Water Air Soil Pollut 75, 141–158 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01100406
[4]. Eric Lauga and Thomas R. Powers. The Hydrodynamics of Swimming Microorganisms. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, and Brown University, Providence, RI.
[5]. Yukio Magariyama and Seishi Kudo. A Mathematical Explanation of an Increase in Bacterial Swimming Speed with Viscosity in Linear-Polymer Solutions. National Food Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan, and Faculty of Engineering, Toin University of Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan.
Cite this article
Dong,C. (2025). Movement of Microswimmers at Low Reynolds Numbers. Applied and Computational Engineering,148,1-7.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Mechatronics and Smart Systems
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