A mix of computational techniques for a better blend
Dr. François Bertrand
Professor, Chemical Engineering École Polytechnique de Montréal
3:30pm - April 10, 2014
(ETLC) 1-001
Host: Dr. Robert Hayes
Abstract:
Despite the fact that "computer mixing" has aroused interest over the past 30 years or so, its role and usefulness still remain unclear to many people from the mixing community. This presentation will attempt to bring elements of answer to this question by reviewing some of the most significant techniques and methods that have been developed to simulate the flow of fluids and solids in various mixing applications. Through many examples of industrial relevance, we will discuss issues such as problem setting, model development, model verification and validation, determination of physical properties, hardware resources, and convergence of results. Upon doing so, we will evidence the progress made in computer modelling but also bring up aspects that need to be further improved, such as the availability of robust and efficient techniques that can cope with multiphase and multi-physics mixing flows.
Biography:
François Bertrand has been a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering of École Polytechnique de Montréal since 2000. He is currently the Chair of this department and was formerly the associate Chair of graduate studies. He completed his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (France) in 1995. His expertise relates to the dynamics of fluids and solids in chemical engineering processes, with an emphasis on mixing, and to the modeling of transport phenomena in fluid, granular and multiphase systems. He has authored more than 125 papers, and the originality and relevance of his work have been recognized worldwide with 30 invited presentations at international conferences and in the industry.
François Bertrand is a professional engineer and a member of OIQ. He is the treasurer of the Canadian Society of Chemical Engineering (CSChE). He was a member of the organizing committees and treasurer for the 50th CSChE Annual Meeting (Montréal, 2000) and the 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering (Montréal, 2009). He is also an officer of the Executive Council of the North American Mixing Forum.
François Bertrand received in 2010 the "Prix de l'Enseignement" for his excellence in teaching, a prestigious award that École Polytechnique de Montréal bestows upon one of its professors every year.