Optimal free-surface pumping by an undulating carpet.

ABSTRACT: Examples of fluid flows driven by undulating boundaries are found in nature across many different length scales. Even though different driving mechanisms have evolved in distinct environments, they perform essentially the same function: directional transport of liquid. Nature-inspired strategies have been adopted in engineered devices to manipulate and direct flow. Here, we demonstrate how an undulating boundary generates large-scale pumping of a thin liquid near the liquid-air interface. Two dimensional traveling waves on the undulator, a canonical strategy to transport fluid at low Reynolds numbers, surprisingly lead to flow rates that depend non-monotonically on the wave speed. Through an asymptotic analysis of the thin-film equations that account for gravity and surface tension, we pre

SUBMITTER: Pandey A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10676362 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature