Prediction of flow and mixing of rheologically complex fluids.

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An almost exponential increase in the computational speed, miniaturization and the resulting decrease in the cost of computing in the recent past has led to huge interest towards In-Silico first approaches for solving engineering problems. This is especially true for CFD, where the use of finer meshes and more complex models leads to more accurate results. However, although handling many fluid flow applications is possible computationally, understanding the flow behaviour of many complex fluids and creating realistic flow/mixing models remains a challenge.The main Objective of this work is to study experimentally, the flow and mixing behaviour of complex fluids comprising of solids, mesophases and isotropic liquids. The knowledge can subsequently be converted to rheology and CFD models. This problem has 3 main sub-challenges.1. Study the flow/mixing behaviour of complex fluids of varying rheology using Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) methodology. Flow behaviour will be studied on a range of batch and continuous pilot/lab scale processing equipment, such as ploughshare mixer, sigma mixer, screw extruder, etc.2. Adapt and develop methods to measure and characterize the rheology of complex formulations, and fit rheological models that capture the effect of xi, T, etc as well as time and deformation rate.3. Develop numerical methods to capture the flow behaviour and produce realistic predictions of the flow/mixing during processing.