Abstract
It is hypothesized that gliding bacteria move by producing waves on their own surface and leave an adhesive slime trail. Slime is basically a viscoelastic slippery material. Based on these observations, we use a mathematical model (of undulating sheet) to examine the locomotion of gliding bacteria over a layer of non-Newtonian slime. The constitutive equations of FENE-P model are employed to characterize the rheological behavior of the non-Newtonian slime. Moreover, substratum beneath the slime is approximated by a multi-sinusoidal sheet. A hybrid computational technique to solve the second order DE with a system of algebraic equations is presented. The speed of organism, flow rate and energy loss at larger values of the involved parameters are simulated using bvp5c in conjunction with a modified Newton-Raphson technique (MNRT). The comparison of soft and rigid substrate, slip and no-slip boundary conditions, Newtonian and non-Newtonian slime is displayed in several figures. Streamlines pattern and velocity of the slime are also drawn for the realistic pairs of speed and flow rate and are thoroughly explained.
•A FENE-P fluid flow is created via organism locomotion.•A hybrid numerical procedure is adopted to calculate cell speed.•The comparison of slip and no-slip conditions is also expounded.•Substrate is taken as both rigid and wavy surface.