Simulation study on the movement of microorganisms in low Re number fluids

In this study, we investigated the movement of microorganisms in low Reynolds number liquids and explored the impact of flagellar dynamics on their motion. First, we calculated the movement of microorganisms under these conditions using established mathematical models to understand their locomotion behavior. Next, we utilized MATLAB to simulate and analyze the effects of changes in flagellar tilt angle on swimming speed. Our findings revealed that swimming speed initially increased and then decreased with larger tilt angles, aligning with theoretical predictions. To further validate these insights, we developed a small biomimetic robot designed to mimic the movement of microorganisms. By experimentally varying the robot’s flagellar rotation speed, we observed a clear relationship between rotation speed and machine motion speed, which was approximately proportional to the rotational speed. This integrated approach of modeling, simulation, and experimentation provides valuable insights into both natural microorganism motility and bioinspired engineering applications.