Abstract
Particle science and technology is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary research area with its core being the understanding of the relationships between micro- and macro-scopic properties of particulate/granular matter – a state of matter that is widely encountered but poorly understood. The macroscopic behavior of particulate matter is controlled by the interactions between individual particles as well as interactions with surrounding gas or liquid and wall. Understanding the microscopic mechanisms in terms of these interaction forces is therefore key leading to truly interdisciplinary research into particulate matter and producing results that can be generally used. This aim can be effectively achieved via particle scale research based on detailed microdynamic information such as the forces acting on and trajectories of individual particles in a considered system. In recent years, such research has been rapidly developed worldwide, mainly as a result of the rapid development of discrete particle simulation technique and computer technology. This talk will present an overview of the work in this direction in the speaker’s Laboratory for Simulation and Modelling of Particulate Systems. It covers the theoretical developments and case studies under different conditions. It is demonstrated through examples that the study of small particles is well linked to many challenging problems in big science. The examples also demonstrate that particle scale approach has gradually emerged to be a powerful tool not only for fundamental research but also for engineering application.
About the speaker
Prof Aibing Yu received his PhD in Materials Engineering from the University of Wollongong in 1990 and DSc in Simulation and Modelling of Particulate Systems from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 2007. Since 1992, he has been with UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering. Currently he is Scientia Professor and Australian Research Council Federation Fellow, directing a world-class research facility Laboratory for Simulation and Modelling of Particulate Systems.
Prof Yu is a world-leading scientist in particle/powder technology and process engineering, which are very much related to the mineral/metallurgical/chemical/material industries. He has made many significant contributions and is recognized as an authority in particle packing and flow, particulate and multiphase processing, and simulation and modelling. He has authored/co-authored more than 700 publications (including more than 380 articles collected in the ISI Web of Science, which lead to more than 5,800 citations and an h-index of 39 as at March 2013). He is on the editorial board of more than 15 learned journals, including Powder Technology, Granular Matter, Industrial Engineering & Chemistry Research, and ISIJ International.
Prof Yu received numerous awards including the Josef Kapitan Award from the Iron and Steel Society, Ian Wark Medal from the Australian Academy of Science, ExxonMobil Award from the Australian and New Zealand Federation of Chemical Engineers, New South Wales Scientist of Year 2010 in the category of engineering, mathematics and computer science, and the Top 100 Most Influential Engineers in Australia in 2011. He was elected to Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2004, and the Australian Academy of Science in 2011.
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