Session BJ: Granular Media: Shear Flow

10:56 AM–12:27 PM, Sunday, November 20, 2005
Hilton Chicago - Williford C

Chair: Stephan Koehler, Emory University

Abstract: BJ.00003 : A Minimalistic Approach to Swimming Through Sand

11:22 AM–11:35 AM

Preview Abstract

Authors:

  Matt Bzdega
  Tristen Dennen
    (Emory University)

  Stephan Koehler
    (Emory University Physics Department)

Inspired by microorganisms swimming at low Reynolds, we are interested in understanding how self-propelled robots can swim through sand. We find that a two-hinged swimmer can propel itself forwards and backwards through a simple sequence of cyclically repeated stroking motions. A range of parameters including paddle size, shape, and stroking angles, along with variations of the swimming strategies were investigated and the results show similarities to Purcell's two-hinged swimmer.