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Motility of active fluid drops on surfaces
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Khoromskaia, Diana and Alexander, Gareth P. (2015) Motility of active fluid drops on surfaces. Physical Review E, 92 (6). 062311 . doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.92.062311 ISSN 1539-3755.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.92.062311
Abstract
Drops of active liquid crystal have recently shown the ability to self-propel, which was associated with topological defects in the orientation of active filaments [Sanchez et al., Nature 491, 431 (2013)]. Here, we study the onset and different aspects of motility of a three-dimensional drop of active fluid on a planar surface. We analyze theoretically how motility is affected by orientation profiles with defects of various types and locations, by the shape of the drop, and by surface friction at the substrate. In the scope of a thin drop approximation, we derive exact expressions for the flow in the drop that is generated by a given orientation profile. The flow has a natural decomposition into terms that depend entirely on the geometrical properties of the orientation profile, i.e., its bend and splay, and a term coupling the orientation to the shape of the drop. We find that asymmetric splay or bend generates a directed bulk flow and enables the drop to move, with maximal speeds achieved when the splay or bend is induced by a topological defect in the interior of the drop. In motile drops the direction and speed of self-propulsion is controlled by friction at the substrate.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | Q Science > QC Physics | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Physics, Liquid crystals, Soft condensed matter | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Physical Review E | ||||
Publisher: | American Physical Society | ||||
ISSN: | 1539-3755 | ||||
Official Date: | 22 December 2015 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 92 | ||||
Number: | 6 | ||||
Article Number: | 062311 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevE.92.062311 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 7 January 2016 | ||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 8 January 2016 | ||||
Funder: | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) | ||||
Grant number: | A.MACX.0002 |
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