A general formulation of Bead Models applied to flexible fibers and active filaments at low Reynolds number

This contribution provides a general framework to use Lagrange multipliers for the simulation of low Reynolds number fiber dynamics based on Bead Models (BM). This formalism provides an efficient method to account for kinematic constraints. We illustrate, with several examples, to which extent the proposed formulation offers a flexible and versatile framework for the quantitative modeling of flexible fibers deformation and rotation in shear flow, the dynamics of actuated filaments and the propulsion of active swimmers. Furthermore, a new contact model called Gears Model is proposed and successfully tested. It avoids the use of numerical artifices such as repulsive forces between adjacent beads, a source of numerical difficulties in the temporal integration of previous Bead Models.