Chen Chen, University of South Carolina


Phase-Field Models for Biofilms. 3-D Numerical Simulations of Biofilm-Flow Interaction

Abstract: Biofilms are ubiquitous in nature and manmade materials. We study the biofilm-flow interaction resulting in biofilm growth, deformation and detachment phenomena in a cavity and shear flow using the phase field model. The growth of the biofilm and the biofilm-flow interaction in various flows and geometries are simulated using an extended Newtonian constitutive model for the biofilm mixture in 3-D. The model predicts growth patterns consistent with experimental findings with randomly distributed initial biofilm colonies. Shear induced deformation, and detachment in biofilms is simulated in a shear cell. Possible merging of detached biofilm blobs is observed in simulation as well.

Advisor: Qi Wang (University of South Carolina)