MODELING BIOFILM PROCESSES USING THE IMMERSED BOUNDARY METHOD

Biofilm processes are of interest to researchers in a variety of field s including bioremediation, oil recovery, wastewater treatment, medici ne, and dentistry. In this paper we describe how this complex, dynamic , fluid-structure interaction can be modeled successfully using the im mersed boundary method. The model presented here includes the coupling of hydrodynamics; substrate reaction, diffusion, and convection; as w ell as the chemotactic response of swimming microbes. Cell-cell aggreg ation and cell-substratum adhesion are modeled by generating appropria te binding forces between discrete representations of organisms that m ay hold them together, or ii fluid stresses are large, may yield and r elease the organisms. In this paper, we show two-dimensional numerical simulations to demonstrate several different types of scenarios that may be modeled using immersed boundary methods. These simulations indi cate the variety of different phenomena one might expect in biofilm pr ocesses. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.