Autonomous elastic microswimmer

TL;DR

This paper introduces an autonomous elastic microswimmer model with coupled oscillations, demonstrating steady propulsion and phase stability, advancing understanding of microscale autonomous motion mechanisms.

Contribution

It proposes a novel coupling mechanism between elastic elements enabling autonomous propulsion, supported by numerical and analytical stability analysis.

Findings

Microswimmer achieves nonzero steady velocity

Stable phase difference observed independent of initial conditions

Finite coupling range enables autonomous directed motion

Abstract

A model of an autonomous three-sphere microswimmer is proposed by implementing a coupling effect between the two natural lengths of an elastic microswimmer. Such a coupling mechanism is motivated by the previous models for synchronization phenomena in coupled oscillator systems. We numerically show that a microswimmer can acquire a nonzero steady state velocity and a finite phase difference between the oscillations in the natural lengths. These velocity and phase difference are almost independent of the initial phase difference. There is a finite range of the coupling parameter for which a microswimmer can have an autonomous directed motion. The stability of the phase difference is investigated both numerically and analytically in order to determine its bifurcation structure.