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Active micromachines: Microfluidics powered by mesoscale turbulence.

Sumesh P Thampi1, Amin Doostmohammadi2, Tyler N Shendruk2

  • 1Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India.; Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK.

Science Advances
|July 16, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Active turbulence in dense matter can power micromachines. Researchers developed a microfluidic system where rotor arrays self-organize to generate work from chaotic fluid flows.

Keywords:
Mesoscale turbulenceactive matteractivity-powered micromachinesbiological motorsmicrorotor arrayself-organised spin-state

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Area of Science:

  • Physics, Soft Matter
  • Engineering, Microfluidics
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Dense active matter exhibits mesoscale turbulence, characterized by chaotic flow structures.
  • Examples include bacterial suspensions, microtubule bundles, cellular monolayers, and synthetic Janus particles.
  • Mesoscale turbulence presents opportunities for energy harvesting and micromachine design.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce a microfluidic system for generating work from active turbulence.
  • To investigate the exploitation of spontaneous symmetry breaking in mesoscale turbulence.
  • To demonstrate a novel approach for designing active turbulence-powered micromachines.

Main Methods:

  • Immersion of an ordered array of symmetric rotors in an active fluid.
  • Utilizing hydrodynamic and elastic effects for rotor self-organization.
  • Computational modeling (virtual prototype) to demonstrate the system's functionality.

Main Results:

  • The lattice of rotors self-organized into a stable spin state.
  • Neighboring discs exhibited continuous rotation in alternating directions.
  • The system demonstrated the potential for work generation from active turbulence.

Conclusions:

  • A microfluidic system can harness mesoscale turbulence for work generation.
  • Spontaneous symmetry breaking in active fluids can be exploited for mechanical work.
  • This research opens new avenues for designing micromachines powered by active turbulence and nematohydrodynamics.