Particle-surface adhesive forces and their role in resuspension phenomena

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Benefitting from complementary expertise in colloid science and aerosols at the universities of Bath and Bristol, the student will apply a variety of techniques to explore the physicochemical factors controlling resuspension of primary particles from surfaces. The project will progress through stepwise increases in experimental complexity coupled with mechanistic model development and validation, exploring different types and morphology of surface, both substrate and particle.Specific objectives will include:1. Develop a range of model surfaces with controlled morphology, hydrophobicity and surface energy, using a combination of techniques such as 3D printing and thin film coating.2. Measure adhesive force distributions between these surfaces and salt and sugar particles of controlled morphology using colloidal probe atomic force microscopy (AFM).3. Investigate the effect of environmental humidity on these adhesive force distributions.4. Implement the measured adhesive force distributions into the mechanistic Adaptive Biasi Rock-and-Roll Model.5. Assess a subset of identified surfaces and particles in the resuspension wind tunnel. This will validate approaches and relate the single particle interactions investigated by AFM to the complexities of wind tunnel resuspension.If initial work with model surfaces and particles is successful, the approach will be extended to include a range of realistic surfaces and particles of interest (e.g. concrete, bacteriological media).