Ionic liquids are salts in liquid state at room temperature. Their physical and chemical properties are favourable for high-end lubrication applications. However, this potential has yet to be realised because many ionic liquids form poor lubricating layers.
We are developing a mathematical model for the development of ionic liquid lubricating films. Taking the continuum limit of a system of interacting particles, we obtain a fourth-order PDE for phase separation in ionic liquids. We are using the model to predict the liquid patterns, and compare mathematics results with experiments.
I supervise undergraduate teams in research projects collaborating with industry. Projects I have supervised include:
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