Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Flow visualization and performance measurements of a flagellar propeller

  • Published:
Journal of Bionic Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A new type of propeller that is optimized for low Reynolds numbers is required to propel a small object in a medium where the flow is dominated by viscous rather than inertial forces. A propeller in the shape of a bacterial flagellum seems an appropriate choice for driving a small object. Accordingly, in this study, we visualized the velocity field induced by a spring-like propeller inspired by the Escherichia coli flagellum, using a macroscopic model and applying stereoscopic particle image velocimetry. We also experimentally evaluated the effect of pitch and rotational speed on the performance of this flagellar propeller. Silicone oil, which has a kinematic viscosity 100,000 times that of water, was used as the working fluid to generate a low Reynolds number for the macroscopic model. Thrust, torque, and velocity were measured as functions of pitch and rotational speed, and the efficiency of the propeller was calculated from the measured results. We found that the flagellar propeller reached a maximum efficiency when the pitch angle was approximately 53°. Compared to pitch, rotational speed had a relatively small effect on the efficiency, and the pitch altered the flow pattern behind the rotating propeller.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lauga E, Powers T R. The hydrodynamics of swimming microorganism. Reports on Progress in Physics, 2009, 72, 096601.

  2. Gray J, Hancock G. The propulsion of sea-urchin spermatozoa. Journal of Experimental Biology, 1955, 32, 802–814.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Higdon J J L. The hydrodynamics of flagellar propulsion: Helical waves. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1979, 94, 331–351.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Chen B, Liu Y, Chen S, Jiang S, Wu H. A biomimetic spermatozoa propulsion method for interventional micro robot. Journal of Bionic Engineering, 2008, 5, 106–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Behkam B, Sitti M. Design methodology for biomimetic propulsion of miniature swimming robots. Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, 2006, 128, 36–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Behkam B, Sitti M. E. coli inspired propulsion for swimming microrobots. ASME 2004 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE2004), Anaheim, USA, 2004, 1037–1041.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Gebremichael Y, Ayton G S, Voth G A. Mesoscopic modeling of bacterial flagellar microhydrodynamics. Biophysical Journal, 2006, 91, 3640–3652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kim M J, Kim M J, Bird J C, Park J, Powers T R, Breuer K S. Particle image velocimetry experiments on a macro-scale model for bacterial flagellar bundling. Experiments in Fluids, 2004, 37, 782–788.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Sakar M S, Lee C, Arratia P E. Flagellar dynamics in viscous fluids. Physics of Fluids, 2009, 21, 091107.

  10. Kim M J, Bird J C, Van Parys A J, Breuer K S, Powers T R. A macroscopic scale model of bacterial flagellar bundling. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2003, 100, 15481–15485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Raffel M, Willert C, Wereley T, Kompenhans J. Particle Image Velocimetry: A Particle Guide, 2nd, Springer, New York, 2007, 211–221.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Lawson N J, Wu J. Three-dimensional particle image velocimetry: Error analysis of stereoscopic techniques. Measurement Science and Technology, 1997, 8, 894–900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Chattopadhyay S, Moldovan R, Yeung C, Wu X L. Swimming efficiency of bacterium Escherichia coli. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006, 103, 13712–13717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Higdon J J L. A hydrodynamic analysis of flagellar propulsion. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1979, 90, 685–711.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  15. Zhang L, Peyer K E, Nelson B J. Artificial bacterial flagella for micromanipulation. Lab on a Chip, 2010, 10, 2203–2215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Purcell E M. The efficiency of propulsion by a rotating flagellum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1997, 94, 11307–11311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Spagnolie S E, Lauga E. Comparative hydrodynamics of bacterial polymorphism. Physical Review Letters, 2011, 106, 058103.

  18. Dominik J B, Dong L, Nelson B J, Golling M, Zhang L, Grützmacher D. Fabrication and characterization of three-dimensional InGaAs/GaAs nanosprings. Nano Letters, 2006, 6, 725–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Zhang L, Elisabeth R, Grützmacher D, Dong L, Bell D J, Nelson B J, Schönenberger C. Anomalous coiling of SiGe/Si and SiGe/Si/Cr helical nanobelts. Nano Letters, 2006, 6, 1311–1317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Zhang L, Abbott J J, Dong L, Kratochvil B E, Nelson B J. Artificial bacterial flagella: Fabrication and magnetic control. Applied Physics Letters, 2009, 94, 064107.

  21. Zhang L, Abbott J J, Dong L, Peyer K E, Kratochvil B E, Zhang H, Bergeles C, Nelson B J. Characterizing the swimming properties of artificial bacterial flagella. Nano Letters, 2009, 9, 3663–3667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Ghosh A, Fischer P. Controlled propulsion of artificial magnetic nanostructured propellers. Nano Letters, 2009, 9, 2243–2245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-744, Korea

    Hyejin Jeon, Dongwook Yim & Jung Yul Yoo

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Polytechnic University, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, 429-793, Korea

    Yoon-Cheol Kim & Songwan Jin

Authors
  1. Hyejin Jeon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yoon-Cheol Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dongwook Yim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jung Yul Yoo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Songwan Jin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Songwan Jin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jeon, H., Kim, YC., Yim, D. et al. Flow visualization and performance measurements of a flagellar propeller. J Bionic Eng 9, 322–329 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1672-6529(11)60119-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1672-6529(11)60119-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation