Self-propulsion of spermatozoa in microcontinua: effect of transverse wave motion of channel walls

Summary This paper presents an analysis for the self-propulsion of spermatozoa through mucus filling a channel with flexible boundaries. The mucus is characterized as a micropolar fluid, and the spermatozoa are modelled as a two-dimensional sheet, sending down lateral waves along its length. The model also considers the motion of flexible walls due to muscular activities. This motion is represented by transverse waves along the channel walls. The analysis has been carried out for inertia-free flow under the assumption that the waves travelling along the channel and the sheet are in synchronization under the steady state. It is observed that the propulsive velocity increases as the departure from the Newtonian theory grows.