Seminar "Illuminating Complex Fluid Flow" Peter Gilbert

Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics (Shen) Unit would like to invite you to the seminar by Mr. Peter Gilbert on Aug 14th (Wednesday).
 
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Date: Wednesday, Aug 14, 2019
Time: 11:00-12:00
Venue: C015 (Level C, Lab 1)
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Speaker:

Mr. Peter Gilbert
Queen's University, Canada

Title:

Illuminating Complex Fluid Flow

Abstract:

Complex fluids, especially polymeric liquids, are an integral part of modern manufacturing. In 2017, Canadian polymer manufacturing accounts for 82,000 jobs and 23.3 billion CAD in manufacturing revenue according to Statistics Canada. Whereas traditional polymer manufacturing uses industrial heuristics that are not informed by polymer physics to optimize production, we aim to develop fundamental understanding of complex fluid flow during processing. Exact transport phenomena solutions, molecular modeling and experimental rheology are just a few of the tools we use to explore polymer processing behavior. Our transport phenomena solutions provide insight into common processing flows for which there are currently no exact solutions. We then continue our exploration by using molecular models to predict and describe polymeric flow characteristics, which often depend on molecular orientation. This theoretical work informs our rheological experiments to determine molecular orientation using flow-SALS (small-angle light scattering) techniques. Using our theoretical and experimental results, we can provide manufacturers with a method to reduce waste and more accurately characterize their processes.

Biography:

Peter Gilbert is a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar and is currently a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. A. Jeffrey Giacomin in the chemical engineering department at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He is also an award-winning instructor, receiving the 2019 Dean’s Teaching Assistant Award. Peter completed his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2013 and obtained a Master of Applied Science in chemical engineering at Queen’s University in 2014. During his studies, Peter has explored topics ranging from carbon sequestration to plastics processing and rheology. His current focus is understanding complex fluid flow in the context of industrial processing using transport phenomena and experimental rheology. Specifically, he is interested in characterizing complex fluid flow using non-invasive imaging techniques, like small-angle light scattering.

Host:

Prof. Amy Shen