Hindered Transport of Bacteria in Porous Media Flows
Dehkharghani, Amin.
2017
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Abstract: Swimming
bacteria play crucial roles in processes ranging from the biodegradation of pollutants
in groundwater to the spread of infections in the human body. The environments inhabited
by these motile cells are characterized by porous microstructure and dynamic fluid
flows. We show that the complex interplay between motility, geometry, and flow can lead
to heterogeneous distributions ... read moreof bacteria and severely hindered bacterial transport
properties. Using video microscopy, we track the motion of bacteria (\textit{Bacillus
subtilis}) flowing through a microfluidic porous medium and complement these
measurements by Langevin simulations. Cell trajectories reveal filamentous patterns of
high cell concentration that result from the orientational coupling of cell elongation
to the flow (Jeffery orbits) and steric surface interactions. The effective diffusion
coefficient of the bacteria is severely hindered in the transverse flow direction with
increasing mean shear rate due to the faster decorrelation of the cells' orientation by
shear.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2017.
Submitted to the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Advisor: Jeffrey Guasto.
Committee: Marc Hodes, and C. Andrew Ramsburg.
Keywords: Mechanical engineering, and Biophysics.read less - ID:
- 5712mk48t
- Component ID:
- tufts:22396
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
