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Applied Fluid Mechanics
These studies encompass the characterization of rheological properties
of complex fluids such as slurries and suspensions, viscoelastic polymer
solutions and surfactants, polymer melts, gas-liquid two-phase systems,
etc. and the application of these properties to the prediction of flow
behavior in various industrially significant applications. Some examples
of these projects include turbulent drag reduction in dilute polymer
solutions; pipeline transport of slurries and suspensions in laminar
and turbulent flow; mass transfer in non-Newtonian fluids with application
to salt dissolution by drilling fluids; enhanced oil recovery through
increased sweep efficiency using viscoelastic shear-induced structure
surfactant solutions; enhanced processibility of polypropylene melts
by peroxide addition; relations between melt nonlinear viscoelastic properties
and processing conditions and ultimate film properties in polyethylene
blown film production; and design of safety relief valves for two-phase
viscous flow applications. Most of these studies involve a combination
of theoretical, experimental, and computational (e.g. CFD) applications.
Transport Phenomena
Colloid and interfacial phenomena, multiphase flow in porous media, nucleation
and phase growth processes, and surface selective separations. Through
studies of polymer adsorption and adhesion, new coatings and colloidal
mixtures can be tailored for specific applications.
Wetting and thin film studies provide fundamental insights into fluid-fluid and fluid-solid interactions and their roles in oil recovery, agglomeration, the separation processes, and materials processing. Crystallization and deposition studies help explain solute buildup in transport lines and process equipment.
Molecular-level simulation is used to study the behavior of systems where solid-gas interfaces are dominant, such as gas adsorption on zeolites and carbon molecular sieves. Fluids adsorbed in such strongly-confining media exhibit very interesting adsorption and transport properties.
