Mathematical Modelling of Rare Events in Nanoflows: A Feasibility Study

纳流中罕见事件的数学建模：可行性研究

基本信息

批准号：
EP/W031426/1
负责人：
James Sprittles
金额：
$ 10.08万
依托单位：
University of Warwick
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2023
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2023 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FW031426%2F1
关键词：
Mathematical Modelling Rare Events Nanoflows

项目摘要

The 21st century has heralded a revolution in the miniaturisation of fluid-based technologies that parallels those achieved in electronics in the 20th century, with technologies on microfluidics length scales now fully commercialised (e.g. 3D printers). Naturally, focus has now turned to exploiting the tremendous potential of flows at the nanoscale (i.e. nanofluidics), where huge surface area to volume ratios create systems that are driven by surface/interfacial effects, so that tiny volumes of fluid can be manipulated in ways that are unimaginable at the scales we observe in our daily lives. Our focus here is on the breakup of liquid volumes at the nanoscale, which are key to applications including nano-manufacturing (e.g. of thin-film solar cells), tear films and 'dry out' of the eye, bionic nano-devices for regenerative medicine and novel nano-particle drugs. Remarkably, at present, no scientific tools have been developed for these nanoflows as: - Experimental techniques can only provide limited information, as the dynamics occur too fast. - Theoretical approaches based on conventional fluid dynamics fail at the nanoscale, as thermal fluctuations ('noise' or 'Brownian motion') drive qualitatively new stochastic dynamics.This feasibility study will explore a new mathematical approach to overcome these challenges based on new methods for rare events that were originally developed for quantum mechanics. If successful, this will provide a platform for a much broader programme of intra-/inter-disciplinary research into the mathematical modelling of practically relevant nano-systems that could put the UK at the forefront of this high-tech emerging area.

21世纪预示着基于流体的技术的微型技术的一场革命，该技术与20世纪的电子产品相关，与微流体长度尺度上的技术现在完全商业化（例如3D打印机）。自然，现在的重点已转向利用纳米级流动的巨大潜力（即纳米流体学），在那里，巨大的表面积与体积比创造了由表面/界面效应驱动的系统，因此，在我们的日常生活中，我们可以在尺度上以难以想象的方式来操纵大量的流体。我们这里的重点是纳米级液体量的破裂，这是应用的关键，包括纳米制造（例如薄膜太阳能电池），泪液膜和眼睛的“干燥”，仿生的纳米式，用于再生药物和新颖的纳米粒子药物。值得注意的是，目前尚未为这些纳米流动开发科学工具，因为： - 实验技术只能提供有限的信息，因为动态发生得太快。 - 基于常规流体动力学的理论方法在纳米级失败，因为热波动（“噪声”或“布朗运动”）驱动了定性的新随机动力学。此类可行性研究将探索一种新的数学方法，以克服这些挑战，这些挑战是基于最初开发用于量子力学的稀有事件的新方法。如果成功的话，这将为更广泛的基础/跨学科研究提供一个平台，以实现实际相关的纳米系统的数学建模，这可能使英国处于这个高科技新兴领域的最前沿。