English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

The ciliary locomotion and feeding of an axisymmetric micro-swimmer in acomplex fluid whose viscosity depends on nutrient concentration areinvestigated numerically. The micro-swimmer is modeled as having spheroidalgeometry, and ciliary beating is modeled by a slip velocity; i.e. a squirmer isadapted. Looking at the coupling between swimming and feeding of spheroidalsquirmers, it is found that swimming speed and feeding are most affected by anon-uniform viscosity environment when the ratio of advection-forces todiffusion-transport, characterized by the nondimensional Pecl\'et number, ismoderate ($\text{Pe}\approx 10$). These changes are correlated to significantincreases in the pressure force on the surface of the squirmer. The swimmingand feeding changes are found to be more significant in oblate spheroids thanprolate spheroids. Most interestingly, nontrivial symmetric slip boundaryconditions on the surface of the squirmer, which results in zero net motion ina constant viscosity fluid, can yield non-zero propulsion when paired withasymmetric nutrient boundary conditions. The fact that symmetric fluid boundaryconditions can result in asymmetric propulsion has implications for the designof artificial micro-swimmers and other low-$\text{Re}$ squirmers in complexfluids.

Axisymmetric Squirmers in Stokes Fluid with Nonuniform Viscosity