Abstract
Acoustic microfluidics provides a contact-free method of manipulating active particles; however, versatile and quick performance quantification of these methods is needed to further apply acoustofluidic techniques in broader settings. Motile Chlamydomonas reinhardtii algae cells continuously swim and redistribute as they are subject to an acoustic field. For performance quantification, this eliminates the tedious procedure of resetting the experiment after each trial, which is necessary when using passive particles as probes. Thus, this method of calibration using active particles is more efficient than using passive particles. Utilizing an accurate simulation of physical active particle experiments is helpful in quickly predicting how changes in individual variables will affect the particle distribution; to know that the experiment is being done correctly, physical experimentation results should follow the simulation results. An existing mathematical simulation that models the behavior of active particles in a known acoustic field within the confines of a given channel was improved to be more realistic. Having an accurate simulation would allow large numbers of simulations under various conditions to be run quickly, saving time and resources. This MATLAB model initially contained arbitrary swimming biases that were an idealized version of swimming cell behavior; the movement and resulting distribution of the cells within an acoustic field were not accurate to physical experiments. Various forces, randomizations, and biases were implemented to observe their effect on cell distribution. Further work would be spent on comparing the simulated particle distribution within an acoustic field to experimental data and making further adjustments to the MATLAB script from there. Further, lubrication forces or particle-particle interactions involving the cells could be added.
Document Type
Final Report
Class Name
Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences Independent Study
Date of Submission
12-22-2021
Recommended Citation
Ma, Emily, "Realistic Additions to MATLAB Simulation of Active Particles in an Acoustic Field" (2021). Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study. 169.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mems500/169