Research Interests

My main research focus is on the behaviour of foams and froths, with particular application to the modelling of Flotation Cells, which are widely used as a separation technology in the Minerals Industry. We carry out both fundamental level studies on various aspects of foam behaviour, as well as experimental and modelling studies of industrial foams and froths. We have not only developed mathematical models of foams, but also a variety of experimental techniques to test the model predictions, including image analysis and tomographic methods. The main application of the research is the study of the froth phase of mineral flotation cells, but the fundamental nature of the approach has allowed us to model, amongst other things, food foams, foams in water treatment plants and undesired foams in the nuclear industry.

Heap Leaching Simulations

My latest projects are on the simulation of heap leaching. The simulations are carried out using Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). The following videos show 2D simulations of unsaturated flow through an idealised channel network. The periodic cell is 10cm by 10cm. All these simulations are at 30° contact angle:

5% Saturation (red - water; blue - air)

10% Saturation (red - water; blue - air)

20% Saturation (red - water; blue - air)

50% Saturation (red - water; blue - air)

Structural Foam Simulations

Some of the recent work that I have been carrying out is on the visualisation of bursting and collapsing foams. The following links are to two example simulations. In the first simulation, a 3-D foam that is periodic in 2 directions experiences collapse through the bursting of surface films. In the second simulation, a 3-D cluster of bubbles coallpses as both internal surface films fail:

Foam with a Bursting Surface

Collapsing Foam Cluster

Current projects include:

Theoretical modelling of flowing foams

Modelling the behaviour of froth flotation cells, banks and circuits

Control of flotation cells

Multiphase flow in packed beds and heaps

Recent Measures of Esteem

• 2009: Technical Committee for the PROCEMIN 2009 conference, Chile
• 2009: Session Co-organiser and Session Chair "Froth Flotation" for 83rd ACS Colloid and Surface Science Symposium, New York
• 2009: Invited lecture on "Advances in Flotation Modelling" to Cytec Research Centre, Stamford, USA
• 2007: Co-organised the British Society of Rheolgy winter conference "The Rheology of Foams and Emulsions" with Dr Simon Cox from University Aberystwyth, held at Imperial College
• 2007: Session Chair "Fundamentals of Froth Flotation", Flotation 2007 conference, Cape Town, South Africa
• 2005 Invited seminars University of Newcastle and University of Lodz, Poland

Biography

• 1996-1999: PhD from UMIST on Modelling Flotation Froths
• 1999-2002: Research Associate in UMIST
• 2003-2005: Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at UMIST/University of Manchester
• 2005-Present: Senior Lecturer at Imperial College

Available Research Projects

Contact me by email if you are interested in doing a PhD on heap leaching, flotation or foam physics