Fluidic simulation of a magneto-mechanical active surface

Abstract

The aim of this project is to perform a fist analysis of artificial cilia, a material recently introduced in the engineering field. This material, which is a reproduction of cilia filament present in the nature, has special properties when subjected to the influence of a magnetic field. This properties may have many applications in different engineering fields. The purpose of this study is to analyse how this material behaves when imposing a fluid flow around it under defined properties. Different geometries and element configurations will be assessed in order to find the design that optimizes the fluid performance in terms of mixing optimization. The project is divided into two range of scales. On one hand, elements of the order of micrometres are analysed. On the other hand, models in millimetric scale are analysed. Along this report a detailed explanation of the simulation procedure and the results obtained is show. The choices are always made in terms of velocity (represented by the Reynolds number) and, therefore, the results are shown in terms of this parameters. A final conclusion states the design which optimizes the fluid behaviour, for both cases.