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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 99 » Issue 22
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 224503 (2007) [4 pages]

Settling and Swimming of Flexible Fluid-Lubricated Foils

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M. Argentina, J. Skotheim, and L. Mahadevan
Université de Nice, Institut du Non-Linéaire de Nice, 1361 Routes des Lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France
Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA
Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

Received 6 April 2007; published 30 November 2007

We study the dynamics of a flexible foil immersed in a fluid and moving close to a rigid wall. Lubrication theory allows us to derive equations of motion for the foil and thus examine the passive settling and the active swimming of a foil. This also allows us to partly answer the long-standing question in cartoon physics—can carpets fly? Our analysis suggests a region in parameter space where one may realize this dream and move the virtual towards reality.

© 2007 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.224503
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.224503
PACS:
47.15.gm, 46.40.Jj, 87.19.St
 
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