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Hydrodynamic interactions between rotating helices.

MunJu Kim1, Thomas R Powers

  • 1Division of Engineering, Box D, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|July 13, 2004
PubMed
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Hydrodynamic interactions between rotating bacterial flagella are key to bundling during chemotaxis. This study shows rigid helices do not synchronize at constant torque and experience no net force when in phase.

Area of Science:

  • Fluid dynamics
  • Biophysics
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Escherichia coli bacteria swim using rotating helical flagella.
  • At the microscale, viscous forces dominate over inertial forces.
  • Hydrodynamic interactions between flagella cause bundling during bacterial chemotaxis runs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To solve for flow fields generated by rigid helices using slender-body theory.
  • To determine hydrodynamic forces and torques on rotating helices based on phase and phase difference.
  • To investigate flagellar synchronization and inter-helical forces.

Main Methods:

  • Slender-body theory applied to rigid helices.
  • Analysis of hydrodynamic forces and torques.
  • Symmetry arguments based on kinematic reversibility.

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Main Results:

  • Hydrodynamic forces and torques depend on helix phase and phase difference.
  • Rigid helices driven at constant torque do not synchronize.
  • No time-averaged attractive or repulsive force exists between two rigid helices rotating with zero phase difference.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding flagellar hydrodynamics is crucial for bacterial motility.
  • Constant torque does not induce synchronization in rigid bacterial flagella.
  • In-phase rotating helices experience no net inter-helical force.