Research
Research Interests
Research Interests
- Biological microswimmers
- Artificial microswimmers and Optimization
- Complex Fluids
- Soft-matter Physics
My research in a nutshell
My research in a nutshell
My current research is aimed at developing efficient numerical models to investigate the complex fluid-filament interactions pertinent to flagellar propulsion.
My current research is aimed at developing efficient numerical models to investigate the complex fluid-filament interactions pertinent to flagellar propulsion.
What is flagellar propulsion?
What is flagellar propulsion?
Several microorganisms like bacteria or spermatozoa propel themselves through the surrounding fluid medium by propagating bending waves along their flagella, which are slender thread-like appendages attached to their cell body. These undulating flagella generate necessary thrust to propel the cell bodies through the surrounding viscous fluid.
Several microorganisms like bacteria or spermatozoa propel themselves through the surrounding fluid medium by propagating bending waves along their flagella, which are slender thread-like appendages attached to their cell body. These undulating flagella generate necessary thrust to propel the cell bodies through the surrounding viscous fluid.
What are it's applications?
What are it's applications?
A study of the swimming strategies adopted by these microorganisms is attracting the attention of researchers in the recent past mainly due to increased interest in the design of artificial microswimmers which could carry a medicinal drug to targeted locations inside the human body.
A study of the swimming strategies adopted by these microorganisms is attracting the attention of researchers in the recent past mainly due to increased interest in the design of artificial microswimmers which could carry a medicinal drug to targeted locations inside the human body.
The ability to model swimming microswimmers mathematically is essential to gain a deeper insight into the underlying biophysical principles that govern their motility as well as for the design of efficient artificial microswimmers. Computer simulations of flagella based on classical elastohydrodynamic theories are prone to extensive numerical stiffness, which renders them unusable for numerical studies. In addition, many studies employ simpler local drag approximations and in many cases they turn out to be inadequate to capture the relevant hydrodynamic features. Hence developing an efficient model for flagellar propulsion which could overcome numerical stiffness and incorporate long range hydrodynamics has always been a challenge for researchers. My research is focused on building such efficient numerical models for the purpose of investigating the complex fluid-filament interactions pertinent to flagellar propulsion. The model developed by us could bypass the aforementioned complexities by adopting a coarse-grained formulation of the flagellar elastohydrodynamics which allows us to obtain solutions of the elastohydrodynamic equations in a simple and straightforward manner. Our model also captures the long range hydrodynamic effects in a simple and efficient manner via a line distributions of Stokes flow singularities. This could pave way for understanding the complex biomechanics of flagellar propulsion as well as for the design of artificial microswimmers which could revolutionize the future of medical diagnostics and treatment.
The ability to model swimming microswimmers mathematically is essential to gain a deeper insight into the underlying biophysical principles that govern their motility as well as for the design of efficient artificial microswimmers. Computer simulations of flagella based on classical elastohydrodynamic theories are prone to extensive numerical stiffness, which renders them unusable for numerical studies. In addition, many studies employ simpler local drag approximations and in many cases they turn out to be inadequate to capture the relevant hydrodynamic features. Hence developing an efficient model for flagellar propulsion which could overcome numerical stiffness and incorporate long range hydrodynamics has always been a challenge for researchers. My research is focused on building such efficient numerical models for the purpose of investigating the complex fluid-filament interactions pertinent to flagellar propulsion. The model developed by us could bypass the aforementioned complexities by adopting a coarse-grained formulation of the flagellar elastohydrodynamics which allows us to obtain solutions of the elastohydrodynamic equations in a simple and straightforward manner. Our model also captures the long range hydrodynamic effects in a simple and efficient manner via a line distributions of Stokes flow singularities. This could pave way for understanding the complex biomechanics of flagellar propulsion as well as for the design of artificial microswimmers which could revolutionize the future of medical diagnostics and treatment.