ICTS

Particle-laden turbulent flows are ubiquitous in nature, laboratories, and modern industry: examples include the transport of aerosols and pollutants in the atmosphere, the advection of rain drops in clouds, the movement of swarms of micro-organisms like phytoplankton in the oceans, and fluid flows with colloids or polymer additives in laboratories or industries. It behooves us, therefore, to develop a detailed understanding of the physics of particle transport in turbulent flows. Research in this area has been growing apace on all fronts - experimental, computational, and theoretical. In particular, the transport, coalescence, and coagulation of particles, advected by a turbulent flows, has attracted the attention of several groups. In addition to the complexity that arises from the turbulence of advecting flows, we have to confront the multiscale nature of particle-fluid interactions, for particle sizes can range from  nanometre to centimetre scales; and these particles can often change the rheology of the underlying flow. To develop a good understanding of particle transport in such flows, we must adopt an interdisciplinary approach that combines ideas from physics, mathematics, and engineering and brings together computational, experimental, and theoretical studies. Advances in computational power and experimental techniques have led to several important results in this area.  We will cover these exciting developments in this discussion meeting, which will, we hope (a) identify the key outstanding questions in this field and (b) foster sustainable partnerships between various Indian research groups and specialists across the world.

An ICTS-IISc joint program with support from the EADS Corporate Fondation Chair.