Hydrodynamics and transport phenomena in multiphase systems: from microscale to macroscale
The essence of the research project is the investigation into the basic physical mechanisms involved in hydrodynamics and transport phenomena in complex multiphase systems. Transport of mass and momentum in both two-phase systems (gas-liquid) and three-phase systems (gas-liquid-solid) will be studied. The stress is put on the momentum transfer between the phases, i.e. on the hydrodynamics of multiphase flows. Hand in hand with the understanding the multiphase motion, the mass transfer phenomena will be explored. The typical feature of the multiphase systems is the existence of a microstructure, given by the presence and configuration of the dispersed particles. The microstructure has a multi-scale nature and determines the system rheology. The project is aimed at resolving the relation between the microstructure and the macroscopic behaviour of the multiphase systems.