Activity Profile of Particulate and Multiphase Mechanics Research Group at the
University of Surrey
1.
People
Prof. Ugur Tuzun, Prof. Rex Thorpe, Dr. Adel Sharif, Dr. Jamie Cleaver; collaborations with Prof.
David Heyes and Prof. Gary. Stevens, and Paul .Sermon (Chemistry), Dr. Paul Jenneson
(Physics); Dr. Anne Skeldon (Maths and Stats)
Some 14 collaborations involving PhD’s and post-docs and grants and awards exceeding £1.5M
since 2001…
2.
Department / research group
Chemical and Process Engineering, Particulate and Multiphase Mechanics Research Group,
Fluids Research Centre, Materials, Surfaces and Structural Systems Research Centre;
(www.surrey.ac.uk/eng/research/), Surrey Materials Institute (www.umi.surrey.ac.uk)
3.
Facilities and capabilities
Experimental facilities include particle characterisation laboratories including size and shape
analyses, particle surface analysis including AFM and SEM techniques, surface adsorption and
desorption test equipment; bulk mechanical characterisation and test facilities for powder
materials including shear cells and consolidometers, fluidisation and aeration rigs, powder
compaction and tabletting equipment; also collaborations with Physics involving x-ray
microtomography and other process tomography applications
Numerical computational techniques available include specialist software (DEM, LatticeBoltzmann, LGA; etc..) for multi-scale physics modelling of multi-phase particulate flows involving
particles, particle clusters and agglomerates in sizes ranging from millimetre to nanometers. CFD
capabilities available include modelling of flows through porous media, modelling of complex fluid
rheology including non-Newtonian liquid flow modelling in confined geometries and two-phase
disperse flow modelling; also collaborations with chemistry involving processing of nanoparticulate multi-phase systems and wet powder assemblies
4.
Areas of research interest and expertise
These include investigations of particle-fluid interactions in suspension flows, surface-wet
granular materials, mixing and segregation mechanisms in powder systems, fluidisation and
hydraulic and pneumatic conveying; modelling of long-range and short range attractive forces
in ultra-fine and nano-particle systems, modelling of particle-laden flows and deposition of fine
particulates in multi-scale pore space in granular media, particle and bulk drying of powders and
attrition and breakage in process applications involving shear and compaction mechanisms
5.
Key recent publications
Tuzun U. et al (2004) Phil. Trans. R.Soc. London A (2004) 362, pp 1931-1951
“Analysis of the Evolution of Granular Stress-Strain and Voidage States based on DEM Simulations”
Jenneson P.M. et al (2005), J.Appl. Physics, 96, pp 2889-2894
“ Examining nano-particle assemblies using high spatial resolution x-ray microtomography”
Gundogdu O. and Tuzun U. (2006) , Kona Powder and Particle, in press.
“Gas Fluidisation of Nano-particle Assemblies: Modified Geldart Classification to account for multiple- scale
fluidization of agglomerates and clusters”
Multi Scale Diffusion Phenomena for Advanced Materials Manufacturing – Summary of Capabilities – Oct 2006