Abstract
The effects of fluid elasticity on the swimming behavior of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans are experimentally investigated by tracking the nematode’s motion and measuring the corresponding velocity fields. We find that fluid elasticity hinders self-propulsion. Compared to Newtonian solutions, fluid elasticity leads to up to 35% slower propulsion. Furthermore, self-propulsion decreases as elastic stresses grow in magnitude in the fluid. This decrease in self-propulsion in viscoelastic fluids is related to the stretching of flexible molecules near hyperbolic points in the flow.
- Received 18 February 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.208101
© 2011 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Reluctant swimmers
Published 19 May 2011
The swimming motion of organisms in complex fluids is hindered by elasticity.
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