Thermo-bioconvection in a suspension of gravitactic micro-organisms in vertical cylinders

Abstract

We investigate the effect of heating or cooling from below at constant temperature and constant heat flux on the development of gravitactic bioconvection in vertical cylinders with stress free sidewalls. The governing equations are the continuity equation, the Navier–Stokes equations with the Boussinesq approximation, the diffusion equation for the motile micro-organisms and the energy equation. The control volume method is used to solve numerically the complete set of governing equations. The governing parameters are the thermal and bioconvection Rayleigh numbers, the bioconvection Peclet number, the Lewis number, the Schmidt number and the aspect ratio. We found that subcritical bifurcations of bioconvection became supercritical bifurcations when the thermal Rayleigh number Ra T is different than zero. For Ra T < 0, i.e. for cooling from below, we have opposing buoyancy forces, the convection is decreased and the critical thermo-bioconvection Rayleigh number is increased with respect to that of bioconvection. For Ra T > 0, i.e. for heating from below, we have cooperating buoyancy forces, the convection is increased and the critical thermo-bioconvection Rayleigh number is decreased with respect to that of bioconvection. Heating and cooling from below at constant temperature and heat flux modify considerably the pattern formation of the gravitactic bioconvection.