Helene Berthet

Non-Newtonian viscosity of Escherichia coli suspensions.

The viscosity of an active suspension of E. coli bacteria is determined experimentally as a function of the shear rate using a Y-shaped microfluidic channel. From the relative suspension viscosity, we identify rheological thickening and thinning regimes as well as situations at low shear rate where the viscosity of the bacteria suspension can be lower than the viscosity of the suspending fluid. In addition, bacteria concentration and velocity profiles in the bulk are directly measured in the microchannel.

Single fiber transport in a confined channel: Microfluidic experiments and numerical study

We present an experimental and numerical study on the transport of a single fiber confined in a microfluidic Hele-Shaw geometry. The fiber has a square cross-section and a typical aspect ratio of ten. We address the question of the fiber velocity as it is freely transported by the flow, and study in particular its dependence on the fiber orientation and confinement in the channel, defined as the ratio of the fiber height with the channel height. Both experiments and simulations are set so that the fiber suspended in the middle of the channel height does not interact with the lateral flow boundaries. At low confinements, the fiber velocity is independent of the fiber orientation with the flow direction and tends to the maximal velocity of the fluid when the confinement tends to zero. The fiber slows down as the confinement increases. We find that as the confinement reaches approximately 0.5, the orientation affects the fiber velocity: a fiber perpendicular to the flow direction moves faster than a parallel...

Non-Newtonian viscosity of E-coli suspensions

The viscosity of an active suspension of E. coli bacteria is determined experimentally as a function of the shear rate using a Y-shaped microfluidic channel. From the relative suspension viscosity, we identify rheological thickening and thinning regimes as well as situations at low shear rate where the viscosity of the bacteria suspension can be lower than the viscosity of the suspending fluid. In addition, bacteria concentration and velocity profiles in the bulk are directly measured in the microchannel.

Non-Newtonian Viscosity ofEscherichia coliSuspensions

The viscosity of an active suspension of E. coli bacteria is determined experimentally as a function of the shear rate using a Y-shaped microfluidic channel. From the relative suspension viscosity, we identify rheological thickening and thinning regimes as well as situations at low shear rate where the viscosity of the bacteria suspension can be lower than the viscosity of the suspending fluid. In addition, bacteria concentration and velocity profiles in the bulk are directly measured in the microchannel.