Tom Miller

BE (Hons)
Postgraduate Research Student




School of Civil Engineering, Room 478
Phone: +61 2 9351 2116
Fax: +61 2 9351 3343
Email:

Research project - Investigations into heat transfer in granular materials using discrete experimental and numerical methods

Supervisor: A/Prof Itai Einav
Associate Supervisor: Dr Pierre Rognon

Heat transfer in granular materials is pivotal in many industries, including petroleum production, sintering, design of underground radioactive waste storages, and in geoscience.

‘Shear heating’, which refers to the internal generation of heat during distortional deformations, is prevalent in many of these situations. However, an enduring ‘heat-flow paradox’ exists in many studies, where the measurements of heat flow do not match the amount of heat predicted by simple models of shear heating.

My research will use Thermal Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations along with thermographic experiments to undertake a robust discrete particle study that systematically examines the shear heating phenomenon in an attempt to address the ‘heat-flow paradox’.

The Thermal DEM work aims to quantify the micromechanics of heat conduction in terms of fabric parameters and shear rate while the thermographic work will consist of novel experiments on deforming two-dimensional granular disc systems with the temperature field at the surface of the discs being captured by an infrared camera.

This systematic study of the micromechanics of particle-based thermal processes will bolster the scientific foundations behind national issues of interest, including: oil, gas and renewable energy; natural hazards; and various industrial processes.

Publications

• P. Rognon, I. Einav, J. Bonivin, and T. Miller. A scaling law for heat conductivity in sheared granular materials. EPL (Europhysics Letters), 89(5):58006, 2010.

Learning & Teaching

• CIVL2201 Structural Mechanics
• CIVL2110 Materials
• ENGG1802 Engineering Mechanics
• CIVL3411 Foundation Engineering