Research

Our group is working on a range of problems involving complex fluids, including their manipulation by externally applied electric fields and flow fields. Our goal within the broad area of multiphase fluid mechanics is to develop novel theoretical (numerical) and experimental methods for exploring interesting features of dynamics, from both applied and fundamental points of views.

One of the approaches used is the direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach in which the fundamental governing equations are solved simultaneously for the fluid and the discontinuous phases without the use of models. We use these methods to study microscale dynamics in complex fluids containing micro and nano sized droplets and particles, and to understand the role of microscale dynamics in determining the macro (continuum) scale properties of these materials. We are interested in manipulating both rigid and deformable particles (e.g., biological cells, drops, bubbles, etc.) in microfluidic devices by externally imposed flows and electric fields. One of the focuses of our present work is the capture and manipulation of particles suspended in liquids and at fluid-liquid interfaces.

We are currently working on the following projects:

Spontaneous dispersion of particles on liquid surfaces
Self-assembly of particles
Computational Fluid dynamics of Newtonian and viscoelastic liquids