Journal
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS
Volume 30, Issue 1, Pages 40-48Publisher
IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
DOI: 10.1109/TRO.2013.2283929
Keywords
Catalytic microjets; micromotors; modeling; physics; propulsion; self-assembled microtubes; system performance
Categories
Funding
- VW Foundation [86362]
- European Research Council under the European Union/ERC [311529]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We describe the propulsion mechanism of the catalytic microjet engines that are fabricated using rolled-up nanotech. Microjets have recently shown numerous potential applications in nanorobotics but currently there is a lack of an accurate theoretical model that describes the origin of the motion as well as the mechanism of self-propulsion. The geometric asymmetry of a tubular microjet leads to the development of a capillary force, which tends to propel a bubble toward the larger opening of the tube. Because of this motion in an asymmetric tube, there emerges a momentum transfer to the fluid. In order to compensate this momentum transfer, a jet force acting on the tube occurs. This force, which is counterbalanced by the linear drag force, enables tube velocities of the order of 100 mu m/s. This mechanism provides a fundamental explanation for the development of driving forces that are acting on bubbles in tubular microjets.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available