Location:
Faculty Hall
Title : Multi scale modelling of complex fluids: From molecular structure to flow properties
Abstract :
Surfactants are molecules with two parts, a hydrophilic ‘head’ which is polar and water-soluble and a hydrophobic ‘tail’ which is polar and oil-soluble. In a water-oil mixture, surfactant molecules at the interface significantly reduce the surface tension, These are used in food and healthcare industries as emulsifiers, detergents, foaming agents, etc. Different concentrations of water/oil/surfactant solutions result in structured liquid-crystalline fluids, with complex relationship between the structure and the flow properties. For practical applications, it is necessary to know the relationship between the molecular structure and the flow properties. This is difficult to model, due to the hierarchy of structures from the molecular to the large scale. First we discuss the unusual rheology of a lamellar liquid-crystalline fluid, and why this is important for practical applications. A multi-scale modelling approach, which connects the molecular structure to the large scale flow properties, is then used to explain this unusual rheology.
About the Speaker :
Prof. V. Kumaran received his B. Tech from IIT Madras in 1987, and his PhD from Cornell University in 1992. After working as a Research Engineer for two years at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science in 1993. His research is in the areas of laminar-turbulent transition, complex fluids and granular flows.
Prof. Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc will preside
Tea- 5.00 p.m.
All are welcome
Divisional Chair, IISc
