Paste, Particle and Polymer Processing group (P4G)
Our interests lie in developing the understanding of processing of pastes, particles and complex fluids (e.g. foods). We apply that knowledge to manufacture, at industrial scale, products with desired microstructure or function, or, equally importantly, to resolve problems encountered in processing such materials.
P4G is now led by Ian Wilson and Sarah Rough following the departure of Bart Hallmark in August 2021. It was formed in January 2013 by the (friendly) merger of two of the groups in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology with interests in structured materials and processing: the Paste and Particle Processing group (P3G) and the Polymer Fluids group.
Prof. Wilson has worked extensively on applications in food processing, heat exchanger fouling, cleaning and decontamination. Dr Rough has a long-standing interest in particle technology and paste engineering. Dr Hallmark worked on polymers and modelling and simulation of flows from micro- to plant scale. There has been much work on complex fluids, both visco-plastic and visco-elastic.
The group's activities range from fundamental theoretical, numerical and experimental investigations to applied and proof-of-concept studies. The research page gives a full listing of ongoing and past projects.
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Academic collaborators within other groups at Cambridge include:
- Prof. Stewart Cant (CUED)
- Prof. Stuart Clarke (Chemistry/bpi)
- Dr Walter Federle (Zoology)
- Prof. Alex Routh (CEB)
- Prof. Michael Sutcliffe (Engineering)
- Martin Snead and Philip Alexander (Opthalmology, Addenbrookes Hospital)
Active external academic collaborators:
- Dr Wolfgang Augustin and Prof Stephan Scholl (Technical University of Braunschweig)
- Prof. John Chew (University of Bath)
- Prof. Jens-Peter Majschak (Technical University of Dresden)
- Drs Juan Manuel Peralta and Barbara Meza (INTEC, Santa Fe, Argentina)
- Dr James Redfern (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Sponsorship and funding comes from a range of sources, including ESPRC and industry. This support is gratefully acknowledged: more information about sponsoring bodies is available on the Networks and Collaborators page.
P4G also hosts the Fluid Dynamic Gauging website: this technique was developed within the P3G group.
The former P3G or Polymer Fluids Group websites can be viewed for more information.
