Scientific Computation: Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics
This research area moved to the School of Engineering in August 2008. The web pages in this section are no longer maintained by the Department, and will be removed.
Algorithms and Programming Technologies
Scientific Aims: To develop the fundamental technology of computational methods for predicting flows of rheologically complex materials (predictive algorithms)
To investigate new programming, distributed processing, visualisation and multimedia studies in computational rheologyTo apply the emerging and enabling technology to investigate practical problems in the processing industry
This is a major new innovative study on the mixing and kneading of foods (dough), aimed at improving the manufacture and production of breads and biscuits.
This area of research is associated with the computation of non-Newtonian flows on heterogeneous networks of processors.
The target is to attain ever more efficient and robust finite element solvers and to construct software for realistic constitutive models.
Adaptive procedures for viscoelastic flows have been implemented using a semi-implicit finite element Taylor-Galerkin/pressure correction scheme, for both an Oldroyd-B and a Phan-Thien-Tanner model.
Our analysis of free-surface flows covers extrusion and moving-boundary problems, such as arise in die swell, stick-slip and drag flows.
Investigation of hybrid finite element/volume schemes for viscoelastic flows
This topic involves fundamental research into hybrid finite element and finite volume schemes for standard benchmarks and complex non-Newtonian flows, with a variety of differential constitutive models.
As the above new technology has emerged it has been applied to industrial problems, where there is a need to optimise process design and reduce product wastage.
