Search

This work proposes a multi-circuit quantum lattice Boltzmann method (QLBM) algorithm that leverages parallel quantum computing to reduce quantum resource requirements. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations often entail a large computational burden on classical computers. At present, these simulations can require up to trillions of grid points and millions of time steps. To reduce costs, novel architectures like quantum computers may be intrinsically more efficient for these computations. Current quantum algorithms for solving CFD problems are based on single quantum circuits and, in many cases, use lattice-based methods. Current quantum devices are adorned with sufficient noise to make large and deep circuits untenable. We introduce a multiple-circuit algorithm for a quantum lattice Boltzmann method (QLBM) solve of the incompressible Navier--Stokes equations. The method, called QLBM-frugal, aims to create more practical quantum circuits and strategies for differential equation-based problems. The presented method is validated and demonstrated for 2D lid-driven cavity flow. The two-circuit algorithm shows a marked reduction in CNOT gates, which consume the majority of the runtime on quantum devices. Compared to the baseline QLBM technique, a two-circuit strategy shows increasingly large improvements in gate counts as the qubit size, or problem size, increases. For 64 lattice sites, the CNOT count was reduced by 35%, and the gate depth decreased by 16%. This strategy also enables concurrent circuit execution, further halving the seen gate depth., Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables

Fluid flow simulations marshal our most powerful computational resources. In many cases, even this is not enough. Quantum computers provide an opportunity to speed up traditional algorithms for flow simulations. We show that lattice-based mesoscale numerical methods can be executed as efficient quantum algorithms due to their statistical features. This approach revises a quantum algorithm for lattice gas automata to reduce classical computations and state preparation at every time step. For this, the algorithm approximates the qubit relative phases and subtracts them at the end of each time step. Phases are evaluated using the iterative phase estimation algorithm and subtracted using single-qubit rotation phase gates. This method optimizes the quantum resource required and makes it more appropriate for near-term quantum hardware. We also demonstrate how the checkerboard deficiency that the D1Q2 scheme presents can be resolved using the D1Q3 scheme. The algorithm is validated by simulating two canonical PDEs: the diffusion and Burgers' equations on different quantum simulators. We find good agreement between quantum simulations and classical solutions for the presented algorithm., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, open source code

One of the vital functions of naturally occurring cilia is fluid transport. Biological cilia use spatially asymmetric strokes to generate a net fluid flow that can be utilized for feeding, swimming, and other functions. Biomimetic synthetic cilia with similar asymmetric beating can be useful for fluid manipulations in lab-on-chip devices. In this paper, we demonstrate the microfluidic pumping by magnetically actuated synthetic cilia arranged in multi-row arrays. We use a microchannel loop to visualize flow created by the ciliary array and to examine pumping for a range of cilia and microchannel parameters. We show that magnetic cilia can achieve flow rates of up to 11 {\mu}l/min with the pressure drop of~ 1 Pa. Such magnetic ciliary array can be useful in microfluidic applications requiring rapid and controlled fluid transport.

When a swollen, thermoresponsive polymer gel is heated in a solvent bath, it expels solvent and deswells. When this heating is slow, deswelling proceeds homogeneously, as observed in a toroid-shaped gel that changes volume whilst maintaining its toroidal shape. By contrast, if the gel is heated quickly, an impermeable layer of collapsed polymer forms and traps solvent within the gel, arresting the volume change. The ensuing evolution of the gel then happens at fixed volume, leading to phase-separation and the development of inhomogeneous stress that deforms the toroidal shape. We observe that this stress can cause the torus to buckle out of the plane, via a mechanism analogous to the bending of bimetallic strips upon heating. Our results demonstrate that thermodynamic instabilities, i.e., phase transitions, can be used to actuate mechanical deformation in an extreme thermodynamics of materials., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Physical Review E (2018)

Most microorganisms use hair-like cilia with asymmetric beating to perform vital bio-physical processes. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel fabrication method for creating magnetic artificial cilia capable of such biologically inspired asymmetrical beating pattern essential for creating microfluidic transport in low Reynolds number. The cilia are fabricated using a lithographic process in conjunction with deposition of magnetic nickel-iron permalloy to create flexible filaments that can be manipulated by varying an external magnetic field. A rotating permanent magnet is used to actuate the cilia. We examine the kinematics of a cilium and demonstrate that the cilium motion is defined by an interplay among elastic, magnetic, and viscous forces. Specifically, the forward stroke is induced by the rotation of the magnet which bends the cilium, whereas the recovery stroke is defined by the straightening of the deformed cilium, releasing the accumulated elastic potential energy. This difference in dominating forces acting during the forward stroke and the recovery stroke leads to an asymmetrical beating pattern of the cilium. Such magnetic cilia can find applications in microfluidic pumping, mixing, and other fluid handling processes.

Organisms use hair-like cilia that beat in a metachronal fashion to actively transport fluid and suspended particles. Metachronal motion emerges due to a phase difference between beating cycles of neighboring cilia and appears as traveling waves propagating along ciliary carpet. In this work, we demonstrate biomimetic artificial cilia capable of metachronal motion. The cilia are micromachined magnetic thin filaments attached at one end to a substrate and actuated by a uniform rotating magnetic field. We show that the difference in magnetic cilium length controls the phase of the beating motion. We use this property to induce metachronal waves within a ciliary array and explore the effect of operation parameters on the wave motion. The metachronal motion in our artificial system is shown to depend on the magnetic and elastic properties of the filaments, unlike natural cilia, where metachronal motion arises due to fluid coupling. Our approach enables an easy integration of metachronal magnetic cilia in lab-on-a-chip devices for enhanced fluid and particle manipulations.