Time: Friday,November 22, 2019 14:00
Location: No.1 Meeting Room, Department of Energy and Power Engineering
Lecturer: Prof. Hernan Makse, Levich Institute and Department of Physics, City College of New York

Random packings of objects of a particular shape are ubiquitous in science and engineering. Here we present a framework to calculate the volume fraction, force distribution, coordination number and yield stress and dissipation for a system of arbitrary shaped particles formed by intersection and union of spherical particles. The framework allows for the exploration of the large space of particle shapes in search of the perfect packing. Novel experimental techniques will be also discussed to test the predictions at the colloidal level. We also introduce a novel way to look at the network of contacts based on k-core percolation, a concept that has been introduced in social sciences to understand stability of networks.

Prof. Makse’s research team is interested in the theoretical understanding of complexity. They are working towards the development of new architectural laws for complex networks, from biological systems, to the Internet, the web, social networks and cities. They also focus on the study of jammed matter, spanning from granular materials, colloidal suspensions, dense emulsions to glasses in search of unifying theoretical frameworks. They explore this variety of out-of-equilibrium systems in terms of their behavior as they experience structural arrest or jamming.

Source: Department of Energy and Power Engineering