Microbial transport and dispersion in heterogeneous flows created by pillar arrays

Abstract

Swimming microbes, such as bacteria and algae, live in diverse habitats including soil, ocean and human body which are characterized by structural boundaries and heterogeneous fluid flows. Although much progress has been made in understanding the Brownian ratchet motions of microbes and their hydrodynamic interactions with the wall over the last decades, the complex interplay between the structural and fluidic environment and the self-propelling microbial motions still remains elusive. Here, we developed a Langevin model to simulate and investigate the transport and dispersion of microbes in periodic pillar arrays. By tracing the spatial-temporal evolution of microbial trajectories, we show that the no-slip pillar surface induces local fluid shear which redirects microbial movements. In the vicinity of pillars, looping trajectories and slowly moving speed lead to the transient accumulation and the sluggish transport of microbes. Comprehensive microscopic motions including the swinging, zigzag and adhesive motions are observed. In the pillar array of asymmetric pillar arrangements, the adjacent downstream pillars provide geometric guidance such that the microbial population has a deterministic shift perpendicular to the flow direction. Moreover, effects of the topology of the pillar array, fluid flowing properties and microbial properties on the microbial advection and dispersion in pillar arrays are quantitatively analyzed. These results highlight the importance of structures and flows on the microbial transport and distribution which should be carefully considered in the study of microbial processes.