Computational Study of Micropropulsion Mechanism in Water Modeled on Flagellum with Projecting Mastigonemes

Abstract

The application of dynamics in organisms to the field of engineering is very instructive. From this point of view, we aimed at examining the micropropulsion mechanism modeled on aquatic microorganisms, and proposed a micropropulsion mechanism modeled on a flagellum with projecting mastigonemes that propels the directions of the wave propagation of the flagellum in water. We examined the effects of the number and dimensions of projecting protrusions on the thrust force and flow of water using computational fluid dynamics.

Keywords

• micropropulsion mechanism
• flagellum
• computational fluid dynamics
• biomimetics