Radoya Panic

Contact information

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Thesis title

Characterising drag production in flow over compliant filamentous biofilms

Research overview

Biofilms form on many engineering surfaces and are known to increase drag. They are a slime-like substance composed of extra-cellular polymer substances produced by microbial organisms that settle on a surface. Ships with a biofilm layer on their hull can experience significant additional drag, reducing efficiency, increasing fuel emissions and decreasing vessel top speed. Engineers lack the tools to predict the additional drag due to biofilms. We will investigate the physical mechanisms for increased drag over filamentous biofilms via direct numerical simulation. The goal is to improve our ability to predict drag increases based on the physical properties of the biofilm.

Supervisors

A/Prof Daniel Chung

Prof Nicholas Hutchins

Qualifications

BSc, Mechanical Systems, University of Melbourne, Australia (2021)

D-MATHSC, Applied Mathematics, University of Melbourne, Australia (2021)

MEng, Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Australia (2024)