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Multiscale Thermofluids
The interaction of droplets with structured surfaces is extremely important in microfluidics, with target applications in medical diagnostics, self-assembly and printing. In this project you will study the dynamic interactions of droplets with structured solid surfaces coated by a thin liquid lubricant layer. Depending on your skills and interests, you will tackle questions about the fluid dynamics of this system using experimental/computational approaches, or a combination of both.
If successful, you will become a member of the Wetting, Interfacial Sciences and Engineering Group within the Institute for Multiscale Thermofluids at the School of Engineering. You will join a vibrant community of PhD students, postdoctoral research associates and academics working in various aspects of surfaces and wetting, and will develop as a scientist benefiting from our track record, which includes publications in top journals, international collaborations and contributions to key international conferences.
Informal queries can be directed to Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar (Rodrigo.ledesma@ed.ac.uk)
The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality of opportunity for all its staff and students, and promotes a culture of inclusivity: https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity
Minimum entry qualification - an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or International equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering discipline, possibly supported by an MSc Degree.
We expect that you will have a good degree in Engineering or Physics with an experimental or computational modelling background. We are particularly interested to hear from applicants with experience in surfaces and fluid mechanics.
Further information on English language requirements for EU/Overseas applicants.
Applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students who are applying for scholarships from the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere.
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Friction is a key limiting factor affecting the motion of liquids in contact with solid surfaces. When water droplets interact with a solid surface, friction can severely limit the speed at which they move, or hamper their motion altogether. Fundamentally, friction between droplets and solid forces is an open field of research in fluid mechanics, with important applications in a range of fields, from microfluidics to self-cleaning and heat transfer.
Recently, we have initiated research on the interaction between droplets and liquid-like surfaces. These are surfaces created by grafting polymer chains to a solid substrate, thus creating an ultrasmooth surface. In this project you will study the dynamics of droplets on patterned LLS, where a surface topography, or a chemical pattern, is applied. The scope of the project will be experimental, theoretical, or a combination of both, depending on your specific skill set. By addressing the questions of this project, you will be pushing the boundaries of knowledge in this new field and kick-start your postgraduate career.
If successful, you will become a member of the Wetting, Interfacial Sciences and Engineering Group within the Institute for Multiscale Thermofluids at the School of Engineering. You will join a vibrant community of PhD students, postdoctoral research associates and academics working in various aspects of surfaces and wetting, and will develop as a scientist benefiting from our track record, which includes publications in top journals, international collaborations and contributions to key international conferences.
The following academic team will be part of your supervision team:
Principal supervisor:Rodrigo Ledesma Aguilar: https://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-rodrigo-ledesma-aguilar
Assistant supervisors:Gary Wells: https://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-gary-wellsProfessor Glen McHale: https://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/about/people/professor-glen-mchale
Informal queries can be directed to Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar (Rodrigo.ledesma@ed.ac.uk)
The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality of opportunity for all its staff and students, and promotes a culture of inclusivity: https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity
Minimum entry qualification - an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or International equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering discipline, possibly supported by an MSc Degree.
We expect that you will have a good degree in Engineering or Physics with an experimental and/or modelling background. We are particularly interested to hear from applicants with experience in surfaces and fluid mechanics.
Further information on English language requirements for EU/Overseas applicants.
Applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students who are applying for scholarships from the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere.
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The wetting behaviours of liquids on solid surfaces play an important role for a wide range of engineering applications, including coatings, electronics, oil recovery, microfluidics, and inkjet printing. For many of these applications, the key challenge is to control the static and dynamic wettability of a given substrate against various liquids. To achieve such control, especially over the full range of wettability landscape, surface chemistry, while crucial, is inadequate by itself. Recent works have shown that novel surfaces with exceptional wetting properties (often termed as superwettability) can be designed by introducing roughness, lubrication, chemical heterogeneities, and tuning the elasticity of the substrate.
The underlying theme of this PhD project is to study the rich interplay between fluid flow dynamics, surface chemistry, geometry, roughness, and solid elasticity in the context of wetting phenomena. Depending on the interests of the student, they can focus on modelling or combine modelling and experiments to develop engineering design principles for structured surfaces with superwettability properties. We will consider both model surfaces with regular patterns (e.g., posts, holes) and non-ideal, industrially relevant substrates (e.g., complex fibres, meshes). This project will also involve collaborations with our international experimental and industrial partners, Dr.-Ing. Hutomo Suryo Wasisto (Infineon Technologies AG, Germany) and Prof. Kuwat Triyana (Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia), to explore how these design principles can be exploited for applications in microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and sensor technologies.
It is expected that the applicant will have a good degree in Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or any other related subject. We are particularly keen to hear from applicants who want to develop expertise in fluids, surfaces, and/or simulations using high performance computing. Prior experience in any of these areas is useful but not a necessity to apply.
The student will join Prof Halim Kusumaatmaja’s group which will move to the Institute for Multiscale Thermofliuds at the University of Edinburgh in May 2024. The student will also benefit from a vibrant community of PhD students, postdoctoral research associates and academics working in various aspects of surfaces and wetting in Edinburgh.
The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality of opportunity for all its staff and students, and promotes a culture of inclusivity. Please see details here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity
Further information about Prof Halim Kusumaatmaja’s group can be found in: https://sites.google.com/site/kusumaatmaja/home
Minimum entry qualification - an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or International equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering discipline, possibly supported by an MSc Degree. Further information on English language requirements for EU/Overseas applicants.
Applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students who are applying for scholarships from the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere.
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