Dynamics of a chiral swimmer sedimenting on a flat plate.

Abstract

Three-dimensional simulations with fully resolved hydrodynamics are performed to study the dynamics of a single squirmer with and without gravity to clarify its motion in the vicinity of a flat plate. In the absence of gravity and chirality, the usual dynamics of a squirmer near a wall are recovered. The introduction of chirality modifies the swimming motion of squirmers, adding a component of motion in the third direction. When sedimentation is considered, different dynamics emerge for different gravity strength regimes. In a moderate gravity regime, neutral squirmers and pullers eventually stop moving and reorient in a direction perpendicular to the plate; by contrast, pushers exhibit continuous motion in a tilted direction. In the strong gravity regime, all squirmers sediment and reorient perpendicular to the plate. In this study, chirality is introduced to model realistic microswimmers, and its crucial effects on the nature of squirmer trajectories, which change from straight to circular, are discussed.