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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/L20436/01
Title: THE FLOW OF FOAMS THROUGH PIPES AND FITTINGS: EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELLING STUDIES
Principal Investigator: Barigou, Professor M
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Chemical Engineering
Organisation: University of Birmingham
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 27 February 1997 Ends: 26 October 2000 Value (£): 187,475
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Complex fluids & soft solids
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Manufacturing Chemicals
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Foams occur in many industrial processes naturally or by design. They may be desirable as for froth floation, or undesirable as in organo-chemical reactors. Information on the behaviour of foams is thus of direct industrial value. Amongst the fundamental issues that are poorly understood is the behaviour of foams flowing through industrial-sized pipes and fittings. This research seeks to improve fundamental understandings of the phenomena involved in such flows. A foam consists of a structured network of thin liquid films. This work will use a range of experimental and theoretical techniques to study (i) individual films and (ii) bulk foams moving through pipes and fittings. Individual films and foams will be studued in flow and modelling. A number of problems will be investigated including the pressure drop in single film, mutiple film and bulk foam flows; the effects of surfactant behaviour on resistance to flow and liquid entrainment; the influence of constricted geometries on foam texture and flow resistance; and foam rupture. Photography and image analysis will be used to study foam morphology and structure. High speed photography will be used to investigate the propagation of the rupture wave of a breaking film through a foam.
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Organisation Website: http://www.bham.ac.uk