Explorations in the biofluiddynamics of locomotion

Lisa Fauci, Tulane University

9:45-10:30

In the past decade the study of the fluid dynamics of swimming organisms has flourished. With the possibility of using fabricated robotic micro swimmers for drug delivery, the need for a full description of flow properties is evident. At a larger scale, the swimming of a simple vertebrate, the lamprey, can shed light on the coupling of neural signals to muscle mechanics and passive body dynamics in animal locomotion. We will present recent progress in the development of a computational model of a lamprey with proprioceptive feedback and examine the emergent swimming behavior of the coupled fluid-muscle-body system. At the micro scale, we will examine the swimming of a flagellum in a viscoelastic network. We hope to demonstrate that even when body kinematics at zero Reynolds number are specified, there are still interesting fluid dynamic questions that have yet to be answered.