Kerem Bozkurt, SFB 1313 doctoral researcher at the Department of Hydromechanics and Modelling of Hydrosystems (research project C04), will give his milestone presentation on "Experimental and Numerical Studies on Evolving Hydraulic Properties in Biomineralization" on 20 March 2025.
Date: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Time: 4 pm CET
Venue: Seminar Room MIB, Pfaffenwaldring 9, Room: 3.141
Title: "Experimental and Numerical Studies on Evolving Hydraulic Properties in Biomineralization"
Venue: tba. If you are interested to participate online in Kerem Bozkurt's milestone presentation, please contact Samaneh Vahid Dastjerdi to receice the Webex link >>> samaneh.vahiddastjerdi@mechbau.uni-stuttgart.de
Abstract
Porous media are living systems—constantly restructured by microbial activity, fluid forces, and mineral formation, all competing to define the fate of flow. Among these processes, biofilm growth and biomineralization play key roles by modifying pore structures, thereby controlling porosity and permeability. Biofilms, by forming within the pore spaces, can create or block flow paths depending on hydraulic forces, leading to complex interactions between growth, detachment, and shear stress. Meanwhile, biomineralization techniques such as Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) and the newly developed Urease-Active Calcite Powder (UACP) offer promising strategies to control and stabilize porous media for applications like soil reinforcement and hydraulic barrier formation. In this work, the evolution of flow paths under biofilm growth and shear stress is investigated through microfluidic experiments and numerical simulations. Furthermore, MICP experiments in glass and PDMS microfluidic cells are presented, and the numerical model, along with its calibration, is developed based on sand column experiments using UACP to get homogeneously high strength bio-concrete. The overall aim of this study is to explore the impact of biofilms and shear forces on flow path dynamics, as well as to advance the understanding of biofilm-mediated biomineralization processes.