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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Drawing and Hydrophobicity-patterning Long Polydimethylsiloxane Silicone Filaments
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Flexible helical yarn swimmers.

A P Zakharov1, A M Leshansky2, L M Pismen2

  • 1Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, 32000, Haifa, Israel. andreiz@technion.ac.il.

The European Physical Journal. E, Soft Matter
|September 25, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study explores a novel flexible swimmer made of two elastomer fibers. Its helical motion and speed depend on excitation, yarn pitch, and load, offering insights into microswimmer dynamics.

Keywords:
Soft Matter: Liquid crystals

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Area of Science:

  • Soft robotics and microfluidics
  • Nonlinear elasticity and polymer physics
  • Biomimetic propulsion systems

Background:

  • Understanding microscale swimmers is crucial for applications in targeted drug delivery and environmental monitoring.
  • Flexible swimmers, inspired by biological flagella, offer unique advantages in complex fluid environments.
  • Elastomer-based actuators provide a promising route for developing responsive and adaptable micro-robots.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the hydrodynamics and motion of a novel flexible swimmer.
  • To analyze the influence of local excitation and structural parameters on swimmer dynamics.
  • To evaluate different excitation mechanisms for controlled propulsion.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of a flexible swimmer using two intertwined elastomer fibers (one active, one passive).
  • Modeling the active fiber's length change due to local excitation (nematic transition or swelling).
  • Simulating swimmer motion in a Stokesian fluid under various excitation conditions and load scenarios.

Main Results:

  • The swimmer exhibits helical trajectories, with velocity highly sensitive to the excited region's size relative to yarn pitch.
  • Carrying a load significantly impacts both propagation and rotation speeds.
  • Propagating chemical waves provide effective excitation, while moving actuating beams are less efficient unless synchronized with swimmer rotation.

Conclusions:

  • The designed elastomer-based swimmer demonstrates controllable propulsion through localized length changes.
  • Precise control over excitation parameters and swimmer geometry is key to optimizing performance.
  • This work provides a foundation for developing advanced, bio-inspired micro-robotic systems.