The research in the group Mesoscopic Transport Phenomena focuses on fluid dynamics at length scales ranging from 10 nm to 1 mm. It comprises both fundamental and application-inspired topics ranging from fluid physics at nano-scales to manufacturing processes of optoelectronic devices.
Current and commencing projects concern dip- and die-coating of chemically patterned substrates, flows driven by temperature and concentration gradients, flows dominated by van der Waals forces as well as flows involving phase changes.
Project discription:
Biological cells such as red blood cells, but also vesicles, bubbles, or polymer particles often consist of a soft deformable membrane / interface and are filled with a viscous fluid. The properties of the surrounding solvent as well as the geometry of a confining vessel structure can strongly influence the behaviour of such particles. If the underlying processes are well understood, a vast number of applications including for example blood transport in microchannels or polymer deposition on complex surfaces appears.
Computer simulations are a valuable tool to contribute to our understanding and to assist in the development of applications, but an applicable simulation method requires a proper treatment of the membrane, the hydrodynamics of multiple fluid phases, as well as the electrostatic properties of the particles and solvent.
