Development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth
Biofilms are microbial communities and they are a significant part of the entire earth’s biosphere. These biofilms allow natural phenomena such as the beneficial bio bacteria growing in a fish tank that supports the nitrogen cycle but it can also cause a myriad of problems. The bad biofilms can c...
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| Format: | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| Language: | English |
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2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/71789 |
| _version_ | 1826128800735297536 |
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| author | David Dalip Dalip Singh |
| author2 | Christopher Shearwood |
| author_facet | Christopher Shearwood David Dalip Dalip Singh |
| author_sort | David Dalip Dalip Singh |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Biofilms are microbial communities and they are a significant part of the entire earth’s
biosphere. These biofilms allow natural phenomena such as the beneficial bio bacteria
growing in a fish tank that supports the nitrogen cycle but it can also cause a myriad
of problems. The bad biofilms can cause issues such as diseases to ship hull
inefficiencies. The study of these biofilms is the key to promote good biofilms and
remove bad biofilms. Flow cells are common laboratory apparatus used to study
certain characteristics of biofilms. However, current systems employed to study
biofilms are lacking in a certain parameter control. In this project, different parameters
are explored in how it affects the biofilm development. After which, based on a chosen
parameter, develop a flow cell with a geometric pattern that concurs with the chosen
parameter. In this case, a flow cell with a flow velocity gradient is developed. The
design in this project affect the growth of biofilms because of the flow velocities that
affects the shear stresses. A computational fluid dynamics simulation was done to
verify the velocity behaviour of the geometric design. Finally, substratum materials
were explored and selected. The fabrication techniques for the different materials were
also explored. The prototype was then fabricated on a piece of polymethylmethacrylate
for optical transparency which allows the flow chamber to be fully
observable with non-invasive microscopy and imaging. Polymethyl-methacrylate also
allows for simple and quick fabrication. The prototype was put to test in a Particle
Image Velocimetry experiment to verify the real-world impact of the design on the
fluid velocity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:30:50Z |
| format | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| id | ntu-10356/71789 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:30:50Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/717892023-03-04T18:15:15Z Development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth David Dalip Dalip Singh Christopher Shearwood School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering Biofilms are microbial communities and they are a significant part of the entire earth’s biosphere. These biofilms allow natural phenomena such as the beneficial bio bacteria growing in a fish tank that supports the nitrogen cycle but it can also cause a myriad of problems. The bad biofilms can cause issues such as diseases to ship hull inefficiencies. The study of these biofilms is the key to promote good biofilms and remove bad biofilms. Flow cells are common laboratory apparatus used to study certain characteristics of biofilms. However, current systems employed to study biofilms are lacking in a certain parameter control. In this project, different parameters are explored in how it affects the biofilm development. After which, based on a chosen parameter, develop a flow cell with a geometric pattern that concurs with the chosen parameter. In this case, a flow cell with a flow velocity gradient is developed. The design in this project affect the growth of biofilms because of the flow velocities that affects the shear stresses. A computational fluid dynamics simulation was done to verify the velocity behaviour of the geometric design. Finally, substratum materials were explored and selected. The fabrication techniques for the different materials were also explored. The prototype was then fabricated on a piece of polymethylmethacrylate for optical transparency which allows the flow chamber to be fully observable with non-invasive microscopy and imaging. Polymethyl-methacrylate also allows for simple and quick fabrication. The prototype was put to test in a Particle Image Velocimetry experiment to verify the real-world impact of the design on the fluid velocity. Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) 2017-05-19T03:58:01Z 2017-05-19T03:58:01Z 2017 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/71789 en Nanyang Technological University 73 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering David Dalip Dalip Singh Development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth |
| title | Development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth |
| title_full | Development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth |
| title_fullStr | Development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth |
| title_short | Development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth |
| title_sort | development of a flow cell for reproducible biofilm growth |
| topic | DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/71789 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT daviddalipdalipsingh developmentofaflowcellforreproduciblebiofilmgrowth |