PhD Studentship: When Things Won't Let Go: A Sticky Problem in Industrial Drying

Supervisors:  Dr Thomas Hudson, Maths, Dr Thomasina Ball, Maths
Project Partner: Syngenta

Many industrial companies dry their chemical products into powders to aid wide transportation and distribution. This process often takes place in large scale driers where the material is heated and broken up mechanically with mixing blades. However, under certain conditions the process can break down as the material sticks to the edges of the drier, causing wastage of the product, and in extreme cases, deterioration of the drier itself.

This research aims to develop a new multiphysics model to describe the material properties of these drying powders, with the aim of identifying the culprits of wall adhesion.

The project is suitable for an applied mathematician, or physicist with a strong mathematical background.

Background

Once chemicals are commercially synthesised on a large scale, industrial driers apply thermal and mechanical action to dry the product into powder. Under certain problematic operating conditions, these products end up stuck to the sides of the drier (see picture above), leading to wastage and the need for expensive manual removal and cleaning of the equipment. The drying process is complex, involving both phase change, particle collision and mechanical action.

From a fundamental scientific standpoint, there is still a great deal to understand about this process, despite its common use in industrial settings. From a practical standpoint, new predictive modelling approaches are needed to inform and accelerate industrial process design, as this is an area where much process development occurs through trial and error.

We will work with industry partner Syngenta to develop a new multiphysics model to characterise the material properties of drying powders, enabling the identification of key causes and trends in wall adhesion. Through Syngenta’s involvement, we will have access to experimental to guide the project inform modelling decisions.

Project Objectives for the PhD project

The aim of the project is to understand the drying process in commercial driers from a continuum perspective. Starting from established models of granular flows and complex fluid flows that incorporate plasticity, the project will explore the impact of drying and the stress applied by the mixing action in the drier on the nucleation of stuck layers of material.

Outcomes

• Motivated by experimental data, build a theoretical model to understand the dominant physics in the drying process.
• Develop a well-documented open-source code to simulate a suitable reduced problem of the drying process.
• Generate a database quantifying expected performance under different operating conditions from the resulting model for Syngenta’s future reference.

About HetSys

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Modelling of Heterogeneous Systems (HetSys), based at the University of Warwick, is an exceptional environment for students from physical sciences, life sciences, mathematics, statistics, and engineering. HetSys specializes in applying advanced mathematical methods to tackle complex, real-world problems across a variety of research areas.

Our research themes span exciting topics such as nanoscale devices, innovative catalysts, superalloys, smart fluids, space plasmas, and more. HetSys provides:

• A vibrant, interdisciplinary student community.
• Flexible, tailored training opportunities.
• A collaborative environment that fosters creativity and growth.

Interested?

Join HetSys and help shape the future of sustainable technology through groundbreaking research. Visit: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/hetsys/themes/projects2025.

Funding Details

Additional Funding Information 

For more details visit: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/hetsys/apply/funding/

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