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Preferential transport of swimmers in heterogeneous two-dimensional turbulent flow

Xinyu Si and Lei Fang*

  • Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA

  • *lei.fang@pitt.edu
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 7, 094501 – Published 27 September, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.7.094501

Abstract

We investigate the performance of active swimmers in a strongly heterogeneous two-dimensional weakly turbulent flow. The flow is heterogeneous in Reynolds number along one direction. Using a hybrid experimental-numerical model, we demonstrate that there are three regimes of preferential transport for rodlike swimmers as the swimmers' intrinsic speed increases. Using Lagrangian statistics along swimmers' trajectories, we reveal that the three regimes are due to the relative strengths of three different effects: the intrinsic speed of the swimmers, the reorientation ability of the shear layer at the interface of two flow regions, and the attracting Lagrangian coherent structures of the flow field. Our results elucidate the mechanism of preferential transport for swimmers in heterogeneous flow. We hope to raise researchers' attention to the dynamics of swimmers in strongly heterogeneous flow environments.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 7, 094501– Published 27 September, 2022
  • Received 25 April 2022
  • Accepted 8 September 2022
Article part of CHORUS
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