News
24-06-2024 Professor Sergio Andres Galindo Torres Invited as Speaker at Granular Matter - Gordon Research Conference 2024 in the United States
On June 24th, Professor Sergio Andres Galindo Torres was invited as a speaker at the prestigious Gordon Research Conference, where he delivered an impactful academic presentation.
The Gordon Research Conference is a nonprofit organization founded in 1931. It provides an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical, physical, and engineering sciences and their interfaces. The conference program includes diverse speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field, and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. Being invited as a speaker is considered an important accomplishment in an academic career.
This year's Granular Matter conference theme is “Particle System Science and Extreme Environments,” highlighting the expansive topics and the frontiers of granular matter, particularly under extreme conditions and environments. This theme emphasizes the interdisciplinary reach and significant applications of granular materials in fundamental research and practical scenarios.
Professor Sergio Torres's presentation was titled “Unveiling the Complexities of Granular Materials: Multi-Physics Effects on Rheological and Transport Phenomena” where he shared innovative numerical simulation techniques developed by his research group. His speech covered various applications and research outcomes related to the multi-scale and multi-phase study of granular material, including numerical methods in debris flow hazard assessment, simulation and analysis of sediment transport, and theoretical research on the rheology of suspensions. His philosophy of simulation as a powerful complement to experimentation to gain insight and predict complex systems was prevalent during his presentation and well-received by his academic peers.
Numerical simulation methods are highly effective for studying granular materials in multi-scale and multi-phase modeling, providing valuable insights into microscopic mechanisms and aiding in theoretical model development. In his presentation, Professor Sergio highlighted the diverse applications and advantages of these methods in advancing granular material science and engaged in extensive discussions and exchanges with the participating scholars, including young promising researchers and the top scientists in the field.
Additionally, Professor Torres' group is dedicated to simulating and analyzing water flow in carbon nanotubes, the mass transfer of immersed gas bubbles, and the permeability and material transport characteristics of crack networks, amongst other challenging problems (group website: M3_lab (westlake.edu.cn) link). His research is highly multidisciplinary as evidenced by the number of papers his group has published in top journals of different areas.
12-6-2024 Congratulations to Dr. Tingchang Yin and Dr. Zhuan Ge on successfully passing their graduation defense
On June 5th and 6th, Dr. Tingchang Yin and Dr. Zhuan Ge successfully defended their doctoral projects, marking a significant milestone in their scientific research endeavors.
Dr. Tingchang Yin's doctoral program focused on "Flow and Transport in Fractured Media". Chaired by Professor Ling Li from the Westlake University, the defense panel members included Professor Moran Wang from the Tsinghua University, Professor Lingzao Zeng from the Zhejiang University, Professor Yixiang Gan from The University of Sydney, and Professor Liang Lei from the Westlake University. The expert committee unanimously approved Dr. Yin Tingchang's defense, conferring upon him a doctorate in engineering specializing in "Environmental Science and Engineering." Dr. Tingchang Yin's research primarily emphasis is on finite-size scaling analyses for the connectivity, permeability, and dispersion coefficients of fracture networks. His research findings have been published in "Geophysical Research Letters" (link) and "Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications" (link).
Dr. Zhuan Ge's doctoral program focused on "On the Rheology and Jamming of Submerged Granular Avalanche". Led by Professor Leihan Tang from the Westlake University, the defense panel included distinguished members such as Professor Yujie Wang from the Chengdu University of Technology, Professor Liming Wang from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Liang Lei from the Westlake University. The expert committee unanimously approved Dr. Zhuan Ge's defense, awarding him a doctorate in engineering specializing in "Civil Engineering." Dr. Zhuan Ge's research is primarily devoted to exploring the Corse-graining method for fluid-granular systems. His work also delves into the investigation of unifying rheology and jamming transitions in such systems, both under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions. His research findings have been published in "Physical Review Fluids (Letter)" (link) and "International Journal of Solids and Structures" (link).
Professor Sergio Andres Galindo Torres and Dr. Teng Man, who served as the supervisor and co-supervisor respectively for Dr. Tingchang Yin and Dr. Zhuan Ge throughout their academic journey, also attended the defense meeting. We celebrate their accomplishments and eagerly anticipate their continued success in their future endeavors. Congratulations once again!
4-6-2024 Excellent Presentation of "CMGM-2024 & CPT-2024"
On June 3rd, Mr. Yifeng Zhao received the "Excellent Presentation Award" of "The 7th national conference on computational mechanics of granular materials in conjunction with the 4th international symposium on computational particle technology (CMGM-2024 & CPT-2024)". The CMGM-2024 & CPT-2024 is a national grand meeting that providing a good platform for the display and communication of research and application of granular materials.
31-3-2024 Excellent Poster of "The 2024 Westlake SEE Annual Meeting"
On March 31st, Ms. HangTong Li and Zaohui Zhang received the "Excellent Poster Award" of "The 2024 Westlake SEE Annual Meeting". Academician Jiming Hao (First in the left in Picture 1) from Tsinghua University and Professor Xiaohu Dai (First in the right in Picture 1) from Tongji University presented the award certificates to the winning students and took a group photo.
28-2-2024 Publication in Journal of Chemical Physics
Ms. Hangtong Li's recent paper on Pressure-dependent Flow Enhancement in Carbon Nanotubes has been published in the Journal of Chemical Physics, a top journal in the field of chemical physics. The study introduces the unique correlation between the applied force field and nanoflow enhancement while addressing the existing inconsistencies in flow enhancement. In this paper, through molecular analysis and statistical examination of molecular structures, we observe that alterations in the applied force field induce phase transitions in nanoconfined fluids, consequently leading to varied responses in fluid transport to external driving pressures. This paper consolidates numerous existing studies to investigate the correlation between the external driving force fields and the fluid structure and flow dynamics of nanoconfined fluids. This perspective offers a significant insight into elucidating the variability observed in flow enhancement. link.
1-2-2024 Publication in PRF
Mr. Zhuan Ge's recent paper on Unifying length-scale-based rheology of dense suspensions has been published in the Physical Review Fluids (PRF) as a letter, a well-known journal in the field of fluid mechanics. The study introduces a novel dimensionless number derived from the length-scale ratio, offering a unified perspective on the rheology of dense suspensions across a spectrum—from conditions where fluid effects dominate to regimes influenced by inertial forces. This approach is grounded in fundamental physical insights, establishing clear relationships between rheological parameters and the proposed dimensionless number. link. This work has been featured and shared in X. link
1-2-2024 Publication in CMAME
Mr. Ren Songkai's recent article on A coupled metaball discrete element material point method for fluid-particle interactions with free surface flows and irregular shape particles has been published in COMPUTER METHODS IN APPLIED MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING the top journal in the field of computational mechanics. The study presented a hybrid approach that combines the Material Point Method (MPM) and the Metaball Discrete Element Method (MDEM). Coupled with the advantages of the MPM and the MDEM, this method is good in handling free surface flows and modeling the mechanical behaviors of irregular shape particles, which is significant to solving problems of fluid-particle interactions in both natural and industrial fields. link.
10-11-2023 Congratulations to Professor Sergio Andres Galindo Torres Receives the “West Lake Friendship Award”
On November 10th, Professor Sergio Torres attended the commendation ceremony for the "West Lake Friendship Award" as one of the recipients. The "West Lake Friendship Award" is an honor established by the Zhejiang Provincial Government to recognize the outstanding contributions of foreign experts. Professor Sergio Torres received this recognition for his exceptional work in scientific research, education, and promotion of research exchanges between China and other countries.
During the ceremony, Professor Sergio Torres delivered an gracious acceptance speech, expressing gratitude to the Zhejiang Provincial and Hangzhou Municipal Governments for bestowing upon him this honor, as a recognition of his work in China. He also extended his thanks to colleagues at Westlake University and friends around him for their substantial support and assistance. In China, at Westlake University, he felt the community's dedicated support for scientific research and infrastructure development. He experienced the respect and friendliness of the people and expressed joy in collaborating with numerous outstanding individuals.
Over the past four years, he and his family gained many friends. Now, Hangzhou and Westlake University have become cherished homes for them. In his perspective, happiness is having a meaningful job or life goal, being close to loved ones, and feeling welcomed in the society one resides. The time spent in China becomes one of the happiest and most fulfilling stages of his life. His children were born here and will experience their formative years in this environment. In the future, they may become bridges between nations, perpetuating this enduring friendship.
21-8-2023 Congratulations to Dr. Songkai Ren on successfully passing his graduation defense
Dr. Songkai Ren has accomplished a significant milestone by defending his graduation thesis and completing his PhD program, titled "Development and Application of DEM-MPM Coupling Algorithms for Particle-Liquid-Structure Interactions."
The defense committee was expertly chaired by Professor Weicheng Cui from the Westlake University, and its distinguished members included Professor Jidong Zhao from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Professor Alexander Scheuermann from the University of Queensland, Professor Fulong Ning from the China University of Geoscience, Professor Ning Guo from the Zhejiang University, and Professor Liang Lei from the Westlake University. Furthermore, we were honored to have the presence of Professor Sergio Andres Galindo Torres and Dr. Pei Zhang, who served as the supervisor and co-supervisor for Dr. Songkai Ren throughout his academic journey. Dr. Songkai Ren's primary emphasis is on developing innovative numerical techniques, such as MPM and DEM, as well as modeling multi-phase and multi-scale interaction phenomena. He has published his research findings in "Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering" link and "Computers and Geotechnics." link
This remarkable achievement reflects Dr. Songkai Ren's dedication and hard work in his field of study, and we wish him continued success in his future endeavors. Congratulations once again!
Online courses highlighted by CSTAM 2022 Annual Report
Online course series organized by our group were recently highlighted in the 2022 annual report of the Professional Committee of Computational Mechanics, Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (CSTAM). Our group organized a series of online courses related to granular flow mechanics, fluid mechanics and geo-mechanics from Sep. 2022 to Nov. 2022 with a mobility grant funded by Ministry of Science and Technology of China. This project focused on building solid collaborations with foreign scholars to work on research of micro- and meso- mechanics of granular flow in coastal areas. Six professors, among which four of them are working in countries within Belt and Road Initiatives, were invited to collaborate and to give lectures. Within this project, the following two online courses were recorded and then published on Bilibili.com: (1) “Environmental Fluid Mechanics” by Prof. Herbert Huppert from University of Cambridge link and (2) “Granular Media and Geophysical Flows” Prof. Kimberly Hill from University of Minnesota link.link.
12-5-2023 Publication in JFM
Dr. Teng Man’s recent paper on the axisymmetric column collapse of bi-frictional granular mixtures has been published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics (JFM), a top journal in the field of fluid mechanics. This study uses both experiments and discrete element simulations to verify the influence of inter-particle friction on the macroscopic behavior of granular systems and help generalize a mixture theory to quantify this effect. Due to the utilization of a simple mixture theory of contact occurrence probability, this study can be associated with the friction-dependent rheology of granular systems and friction-induced granular segregations, and further generalized to applications with multiple species of particles in various natural and engineering mixtures.link.
17-04-2023 Editor's Pick by the Acta Mechanica Sinica
Congratulations to Dr. Teng Man on his paper on Friction-dependent rheology of dry granular systems being granted as a Editor's Pick by Acta Mechanica Sinica. The study proposes a dimensionless number to describe the effect of inter-particle frictions on the rheological properties of granular materials, and further broadens the application of the traditional granular rheology to help establish a more general constitutive model for complex granular systems.link. Wechat:link.
01-04-2023 Publication in IJSS
Mr. Zhuan Ge's recent paper on mean stress tensor of discrete particle systems in submerged conditions has been published in the International Journal of Solids and Structures (IJSS), a well-known journal in the field of solid mechanics. This study uses Hamilton’s principle of least action to derive the averaged stress tensor of discrete granular assemblies subjected to hydraulic force fields, as well as rigorous conditions for a proper definition of the Representative Volume Element (RVE), and provides a new perspective based on the granular assembly scale to pursue the fluid–solid interaction.link.
17-03-2023 Funding
Congratulations to Prof. Torres on his successful grant application (as a co-PI) funded by the Hangzhou goverment and Xihumingzhu program (西湖明珠工程-领军型创新创业团队). The project, with a support of 5 million RMB, focuses on the measurement and application of microviscosity.
14-03-2023 Publication in GRL
Mr. Tingchang Yin recent article on the finite-size scaling for the permeability of discrete fracture networks has been published in GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, the top journal in the field of geophysics. With the finite-size scaling function in percolation theory, this study provides a solid theoretical foundation to understand the connection between fracture attributes and field-scale hydraulic properties. link
13-09-2022 Funding
Congratulations to Dr. Teng Man on his successful grant application funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, in the Young Scientist Program.
15-05-2022 Publication in CMAME
Mr. Ren Songkai recent article on the coupling between Discrete Element and Material Point Methods has been published in COMPUTER METHODS IN APPLIED MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING the top journal in the field of computational mechanics. The study presented a hybrid model that combines the advantages of the two-phase (solid and liquid) Material Point Method on handling continuum materials with large deformations and the capability of the Discrete Element Method on simulating the mechanical behaviours of rigid particles.link
04-05-2022 Publication in PHYSICA A
Mr. Yin Tingchang recent article on the scaling solution for the connectivity of discrete fracture networks has been published in PHYSICA A: STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND ITS APPLICATIONS. The study presented a universal finite-size scaling solution to describe the connectivity of various discrete fracture networks, based on a series of dimensionless parameters, fixed critical quantities, and a moment-based characteristic length scale. The study shows great potential in applying the scaling solution to real fracture systems in the future.link
14-01-2022 Award
Congratulation to Mr. Yifeng Zhao for being awarded the 10 Excellent Presenters at the Student Seminar Series.
03-12-2021 Publication in GRL
Dr. Teng Man recent article on the finite-size scaling analysis of the collapse of dry granular columns has been published in GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, the top journal in the field of geophysics. The study presents a finite-size analysis, which is inspired by a phase transition around an inflection point, to obtain a general scaling equation with critical exponents for runout distances.link
27-10-2021 Award
Congratulation to Mr. Zhuan Ge and Dr. Teng Man for winning the Best Poster Award in the 2021 Westlake International Symposium in Engineering (WISE 2021). The poster is presented below.
19-10-2021 Student Title
Congratulation to Mr. Yifeng Zhao for being awarded the Excellent Graduate Student Title of the Zhejiang University.
18-08-2021 Funding
Congratulations to Prof. Torres, Dr. Man Teng and Dr. Guo Guanlong on their successful grant applications funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, in both the General Program and Young Scientist Program.
02-08-2021 Publication in CMAME
Dr. Zhang Pei recent article on the coupling between Material Point and Lattice Boltzmann Methods has been published in COMPUTER METHODS IN APPLIED MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING the top journal in the field of computational mechanics. The study presented a hybrid 3D model that combines the advantages of LBM in solving complex flow problems and the capability of MPM in handling large structural deformations.link
26-08-2020 Scholarship
Congratulation to Mr. Tingchang Yin for being awarded the Third-class Freshmen Scholarship of the School of Engineering PhD cohort 2020.
21-07-2020 Funding
Prof. Torres and Dr. Zhang Pei have successfully applied for a Zhejiang Provincial Department of Science and Technology project. They will collaborate with the POWERCHINA-HUADONG ENGINEERING CORPORATE LIMITED. The project deals with multi-physics modeling of wind turbines in coastal areas.