Beating kinematics of magnetically actuated cilia

Abstract

We study the beating kinematics and pumping performance of a magnetically actuated artificial cilium attached to a surface using a bead spring model. Several different beating patterns for the external field are considered along with the possiblity of defects in the filament at isolated points. Hydrodynamic interactions between the beads are included by a modified Rotne-Prage tensor such that the no-slip boundary condition at the surface is satisfied. We find that the correct positioning of defects along the filament length can lead to significant increases in the pumping performance of a planar beating pattern. Even more efficient for pumping fluid are three-dimensional beating strokes which bring the filament close to the surface during the return part of the stroke.