Research grants

• Understanding the merging dynamics of surface nanobubbles and the resulting capillary force between particles from molecular simulations Nanobubbles are gas-filled cavities in liquids with diameters ranging
  from tens to hundreds of nanometers. The key difference between
  nanobubbles and ordinary, larger bubbles is that larger bubbles rise
  rapidly to the surface of a liquid and burst, while nanobubbles can
  remain suspended in liquids for hours or even days. Due to their
  unique properties, nanobubbles are extremely useful in a broad range
  of technological applications such as froth flotation, wastewater
  treatment, detergent-free cleaning, and de-inking. The key process in
  these applications is the coalescence of nanobubbles on the surfaces
  of particles, which results in the formation of particle aggregates in a
  liquid. The main objective of this project is to use numerical
  simulations and theoretical models to understand the merging
  dynamics of nanobubbles and the resulting capillary force between
  adjoining particles.
• Thermal Transport across Liquid-gas Interfaces Evaporation and condensation of micro/nanodroplets are of great
  importance to various engineering and environmental applications
  such as spray cooling, spray combustion, and cloud formation. It is
  essential to accurately predict the evaporation/condensation rates for
  these small droplets for achieving a more efficient use of
  micro/nanodroplets in these applications. Although evaporation and
  condensation processes have been studied for over a century, the
  existing relationships that model evaporation and condensation
  processes often predict results that are inconsistent with, or even
  contradictive to experimental data. The main objective of this project
  is to use numerical and theoretical methods to fundamentally
  understand heat and mass transfer across liquid-gas interfaces, and
  evaluate the thermal resistance at liquid-gas interfaces to help
  elucidate these inconsistencies.