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| Michael D. Graham |
| Michael D. Graham Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Harvey D. Spangler Professor 
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| 3010 Engineering Hall 1415 Engineering Drive Madison, WI 53706-1691 |
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Tel: 608/265-3780 Fax: 608/262-5434 E-mail: graham@engr.wisc.edu |
The primary focus of the research in our group is the dynamical behavior of flowing complex fluids -- materials whose microstructure interacts in a nontrivial way with how it is deformed by flow. These fluids, examples of which include polymer and surfactant solutions, are important because of both their intrinsically interesting behavior and their widespread technological importance. An important fundamental feature of complex fluids is that, in flow, these materials display instabilities and nonlinear dynamics that are quite different from what is observed in simple fluids. For example, the structure of turbulent flow is dramatically changed by the presence of small amounts of high-molecular weight polymer, as is the stability of coating processes. Our research aims for mechanistic understanding of these phenomena, as well as strategies for their control and exploitation. In related work, we are studying the dynamics of complex fluids in microfluidic devices. Examples of our work along these lines include the development of methods for simulating the dynamics of DNA in microchannels and for predicting transport in microprocess systems driven by "tunable" surfactants developed in Nick Abbott's group.
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Copyright 2008 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System Date last modified: 07-Jan-2008 Date created: 16-Aug-1999 Content by: graham@engr.wisc.edu Accessibility Web services Thank you for visiting http://www.engr.wisc.edu/che/faculty/graham_michael.html |
