This award supports the participation of American scientists in a U.S.-Japan joint seminar on two-phase flow dynamics to be held in Moriyama, Japan from December 6-11, 2004. The co-organizers are Professor Richard Lahey at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and Professor Akimi Serizawa at Kyoto University in Japan. Multiphase flow and heat transfer phenomena is ubiquitous in many industrial, military and environmental systems and processes. Unfortunately, most multiphase technology has been empirically based rather than being mechanistically based (i.e., it was not based on the physics of the transfer processes). As a consequence, multiphase process optimization, system scale-up and technology transfer between field-specific applications has been difficult if not impossible. Nevertheless, significant progress in the mechanistic modeling of multidimensional, multiphase flow has been made in the last 20 years, including the development of 3-D multi-field, multifluid, computational multiphase fluid dynamic (CMFD) models, and the increased use of direct numerical simulations (DNS) and lattice Boltzmann simulations (LBS). The seminar will build on these past accomplishments. In addition to state-of-the-art discussions, cooperative R&D plans will be formulated for the advancement of the field of multiphase flow and heat transfer.
The co-organizers have complementary scientific expertise in the field. This enables them to evaluate and attract the best science and engineering researchers to participate. These new developments will impact the areas of current and advanced generation energy conversion and utilization systems, multiphase chemical reactors, bio-reactors, nuclear reactors (especially during postulated accidents), petroleum recovery systems and processes, proposed energy and propulsion systems for manned deep space exploration (e.g. the manned mission to Mars recently proposed by the President), the role of ocean waves in greenhouse gas mitigation, and nano-aerosol particle production and utilization. The seminar organizers have made a special effort to involve postdocs and graduate students as both participants and observers. The exchange of ideas and data with Japanese experts in the field will enable U.S. participants to advance their own work, and will set the stage for future collaborative projects. Following the seminar the organizers plan to establish a workshop web page. Conference proceedings will be published on this web site.
