CFD-DEM modelling of biofilm streamers oscillations and their
interactions in the flow
Abstract
Biofilm streamer motion under different flow conditions is important for
a wide range of industries. The existing work has largely focused on
experimental characterisations of these streamers, which is often
time-consuming and expensive. To better understand the physics of
biofilm streamer oscillation and their interactions in fluid flow, a
CFD-DEM (Computational Fluid Dynamics – Discrete Element Method) model
has been developed. The model was used to study the flow-induced
oscillations of single and multiple biofilm streamers. We have studied
the effect of streamer length on the oscillation at varied flow rates.
The predicted single biofilm streamer oscillations in various flow rates
agreed well with experimental measurements. Furthermore, we have
investigated the effect of the spatial arrangement of streamers on
interactions between two oscillating streamers, which have not been
achieved previously.