Numerical and physical modelling and characterization of nanofluids and fibrous medium flow

拟议的研究计划涉及三个不同的领域，这些领域在涉及应用的基本原则和方法方面彼此密切相关。 每个领域的目标是：i）进一步开发和实验验证一个精细的数值工具，以研究液体复合材料成型工艺，以制造聚合物基复合材料的净形部件，这是新的太空时代的材料。 在本研究结束时，更好地了解干预现象，这将导致改进的部分，通过贡献增强信息有关的属性，如渗透性和曲折性，设计师消除不确定性和随之而来的“试错”; ii）调查实验和数值的可能性，控制和操纵纳米流体-一个“基础”流体分散的纳米粒子。 待使用的纳米颗粒是“掺杂的”多壁碳管。 这项研究如果成功，将在包括微加工、动态控制和增强材料性能在内的广泛工艺中带来独特的机会。 在宏观尺度上，可以设想使用纳米流体，使用聚合物作为“基础”流体和碳纳米管作为液体复合过程中的纳米颗粒;和iii）研究微流，包括在模拟患病动脉的动脉粥样硬化的生物芯片周围沉积纳米颗粒。 生物芯片的设计将考虑到细胞培养、生物纳米技术、医学信息学和显微可视化技术的最新发现，其主要重点将是血细胞在动脉粥样硬化病变发病机制中所起的作用。 流体动力学结果有望阐明健康和患病动脉壁之间的流动模式差异，从而有助于增强目前可用的诊断策略和工具。 拟议的计划，除了刚才所述的好处，具有提供高素质的跨学科的科学合作在国家和国际层面上的主要优势，以及传播成果的良好渠道，同时促进高素质人才的培训。

The proposed research program addresses three different areas, which are closely related to each other in what concerns the fundamental principles and methodologies to be applied. The objectives for each area are: i) to further develop and experimentally verify a refined numerical tool to investigate liquid composite molding processes to manufacture net-shape parts of polymer matrix composites, which are new space-age materials. At the end of this research, better understanding of the intervening phenomena is expected, which will lead to improved parts by contributing enhanced information concerning properties, such as permeability and tortuosity, to designers removing uncertainty and consequent "trial-and-error"; ii) to investigate experimentally and numerically the possibility of controlling and steering a nanofluid - a "base" fluid with dispersed nanoparticles. The nanoparticles to be used are "doped" multi-walled carbon tubes. This research, if successful, will lead to unique opportunities in a wide range of processes including microfabrication, dynamic control and enhanced material properties. At a macroscale, it can be envisioned the use of nanofluids using polymers as the "base" fluid and carbon nanotubes as the nanoparticles in the liquid composite processes; and iii) to study the microflows including the deposition of nanoparticles around a biochip that emulates the atherosclerosis of a diseased artery. The biochip will be designed to take into account the most recent findings in cell culture, bio-nanotechnology, medical informatics and micro-visualization technology, and its primary focus will be on the role played by blood cells in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic lesions. The fluid dynamics results are expected to elucidate about the difference in flow patterns between healthy and diseased artery wall, helping in this way the enhancement of currently available diagnostic strategies and tools. The proposed program, in addition to the benefits just described, has the major advantage of providing for high caliber inter-disciplinary scientific collaboration at national and international levels, and excellent channels of dissemination of results, while facilitating the training of highly qualified personnel.