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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Particle laden flow at higher volume fraction is difficult to model because manybody interactions between particles in an incompressible fluid do not have closed-form first-principles models. I will present a body of research in this area focusing on free surface flow under gravity in the regime where particle interactions and gravity are dominant effects. This talk is a blend of physical modeling, mathematical analysis of systems of conservation laws, and laboratory experiments. I will also speak about spiral separators, used in the mining industry, and how a simple system of flow under gravity in a helical trough can lead to separation of species of particles in a slurry. Other topics of interest include ongoing research related to the "Brazil nut" effect in bidisperse slurries and the formation of singular shocks in high volume fraction flows. In the latter problem we have developed a simplified model for continuation the solution via mass shedding events. We show that a basic system of random mass-shedding events leads to power-law scaling behavior and statistical stationarity of the dynamics
Host: Chris Fryer