Dear Anatulie,

I do not know what is Ecoli strains? However, a short burst of electricity like an electric spark release energy which can cause irreversible membrane damage. The factors affecting this phenomena are strength of the spark, time duration, shape of the spark, surrounding fluid media in which spark is taking place and in which membrane is placed, distance of membrane from the spark, membrane thickness and material properties and membrane support (or boundary conditions).

This can be modeled using finite element analysis. The electric spark can be modeled as compressed gas with the same amount of stored energy as that released by the electric spark. The membrane can be modeled based on it's material behavior alongwith damage model or damage parameters. This is one of the fluid structure interaction problems.

Regards,

Chandrashekhar