Most fluids used in industrial processes have a complex internal structure at microscopic scales. When these fluids are processed e.g. pumped, transported, mixed, extruded, spun, etc. their microstructure changes dynamically. To optimally engineer such applications, we need to be able to accurately predict how the physical properties of these materials are related to their constituents, and that requires a deep understanding of the connection between the constituents, the microstructure, and the macroscale flow of these materials.
We are a research group in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Monash University, in Melbourne, Australia. Our purpose is to bridge scales through deep understanding, and we use multiscale modeling and computation and work with experimental collaborators to scientifically test our ideas of what goes on in the secret lives of complex fluids. Our current focus is on polymer solutions and suspensions of microswimmer particles. We develop an understanding of these fluids in the context of novel engineering applications.
This requires developing models based on insights from a broad range of fields such as fluid & solid mechanics, rheology, statistical mechanics, and thermodynamics. Computations with such models further require diverse numerical techniques ranging from methods used in continuum mechanics (e.g. Finite Volume or Finite Element Methods) to mesoscale techniques with stochastic noise, such as Brownian Dynamics, etc. Understanding and interpreting simulation results requires analytical tools, such as stability analysis. We further work closely with other groups to design experiments test models and predictions. We also develop tools and techniques for experimental quantification, for example, image-analysis tools to quantify images and videos obtained using microscopy and other techniques.
Prabhakar Group 