Dr Ian Wilson
| Position | Reader |
|---|---|
| College | Jesus |
| Qualifications/honours | BA, Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge, 1988 MEng, Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge, 1989 PhD, Chemical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 1994 Visiting Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland, 2000 Visiting Lecturer, Technical University of Braunschweig, 2008- FIChemE, CEng, CSci |
| Address | Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology University of Cambridge New Museums Site Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3RA, UK |
| diw11@cam.ac.uk | |
| Telephone | +44 (0)1223 (3)34791 |
| Research group | Powder and Paste Processing |
Research description
Our interests lie in the following two areas, with particular applications in the food and chemicals industries.
Micro-Structured Materials
We are interested in studying the formation and processing behaviour of structured semi-solid materials. The main area of interest is in solid-liquid pastes or doughs, composed of particulate solids surrounded by continuous liquid phase(s). These are common in the food, detergent, agro-chemicals, pharmaceutical and catalysis industries, and are frequently formed into particular shapes by extrusion. The underlying physics is complex and we use aspects of plasticity theory, fluid rheology and soil mechanics to describe these systems. This work is part of the Paste and Powder Processing Group activity, in association with Bill Paterson and David Scott. Our activities are focused around
- Fundamental studies : investigations of phenomena, such as liquid phase migration, agglomeration or fracture;
- Process modelling : developing models of paste forming processes, such as rolling/calendering or screen extrusion;
- Product design : relating function, processing and formulation to deliver particular product properties.
Fouling and Cleaning Mechanisms
A whole class of unwanted micro-structured materials can be found as fouling deposits on heat transfer surfaces, in distribution systems and other equipment. Fouling is a common (and expensive) operating problem in many processes, particularly the food industry, where the deposits formed can act as harbours for other problem species (e.g. bacteria ). This work relates to long-standing efforts in heat transfer and approaches the problem at three related scales:
- Fundamental studies of deposit formation and removal, with particular focus on deposit structure and modelling;
- Design, control and operation of individual heat exchanger units, both in production and during cleaning (e.g. for aspectic processing);
- Design and operation of large heat transfer networks, such as are used in energy intensive processes.
Recent work has focused on retrofit and design for crude oil fouling (in refinery pre-heat trains) and novel, non-disruptive, in-situ methods for studying the growth or removal of soft layers in conjunction with Bill Paterson and John Chew
Research keywords
paste, powder, food, fouling, cleaningKey publications
Taylor, J.E., Van Damme, I., Johns, M.L., Routh, A.F. and Wilson, D.I. (2009) ‘Shear rheology of molten crumb chocolate’, J. Food Sci., 74(2) E55-61.Pore, M., Seah, H.H., Glover, J.W.H., Holmes, D.J., Johns, M.L., Moggridge, G.D. and Wilson, D.I. (2009) ‘In-situ X-ray studies of cocoa butter drops undergoing simulated spray freezing’, J. Am. Oil. Chem. Soc., 86, 215-225.
Gu, T., Chew, Y.M.J., Paterson, W.R. and Wilson, D.I. (2009) ‘Experimental and CFD studies of fluid dynamic gauging in annular flows’, AIChEJ, 55(8), 1937-1947.
Ishiyama, E.M., Paterson, W.R. and Wilson, D.I. (2009) ‘A platform for techno-economic analysis of fouling mitigation options in refinery preheat trains’, Energy & Fuels, 23 (3), 1323-1337.
Hadjiendreou, M., Conjeros, R. and Wilson, D.I. (2009) ‘Planning of patient-specific, drug-specific optimal HIV treatment strategies’, Chem. Eng. Sci, 64, 4024-4039.