Predictive capability for particle capture in aquatic ecosystems

本项目研究颗粒捕获的基本流体力学，悬浮颗粒接触并附着在固体结构上。这一过程在多产和生物多样性的生态系统(如珊瑚礁和海草草甸)中得到检验，这些生态系统的健康、生产力和繁殖直接受到颗粒捕获的控制。现有的颗粒捕获配方只有在高度理想化的条件下才有效，这些条件严重不能代表生态系统流的复杂性。该项目的目标是利用耦合的计算-实验活动来开发对生态系统中颗粒捕获的预测能力，在生态系统中，流动可以是湍流和/或波主导的，并且生物结构复杂。

This project investigates the fundamental fluid mechanics of particle capture, whereby suspended particles contact and adhere to a solid structure. This process is examined in productive and biodiverse ecosystems (such as coral reefs and seagrass meadows) whose health, productivity and propagation are directly controlled by particle capture. Existing formulations for particle capture are valid only under highly idealised conditions that are grossly unrepresentative of the complexity of ecosystem flows. The goal of this project is to use a coupled computational-experimental campaign to develop predictive capability for particle capture in ecosystems, where the flow can be turbulent and/or wave-dominated and the biological structures complex.