Filter feeding, chaotic filtration, and a blinking stokeslet (Q1390010)

A fluid mechanical model is developed for the filtering mechanism in mussels that enables estimates to be made of the pressure drop through the gill filaments due to (i) latero-frontal filtering cilia, (ii) the lateral (pumping) cilia, and (iii) through the non-ciliated zone of the ventral end of the filament. The velocity profile across the filaments indicates that a backflow can occur in the centre of the channel leading to the formation of two ``standing'' eddies which may drive particles towards the mucus-laden short cilia, the third set of cilia. Filter feeding in the sessile organisms is modelled by a point force above a rigid boundary. The point force periodically changes its point of application according to a given protocol (a blinking stokeslet). The resulting fluid field is illustrated via Poincaré sections and particle dispersion -- showing the potential for a much improved filtering efficiency.