Bruce A. Finlayson
Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering
Contact Information
| 349 Benson Hall Box 351750 Seattle, WA 98195-1750 |
Phone: 206-685-1634 Fax: 206-685-3451 E-mail: finlayson@cheme.washington.edu |
Education
B.A., Rice University, 1961.
M.S., Rice University, 1963.
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1965.
For more information, please see Dr. Finlayson's Personal Home Page.
Research Interests
A research program encompasses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations for ferrofluid motion and microfluidics.
Ferrofluids are made from a base fluid (often an oil) which contains nanoparticles of magnetite, surrounded by a surfactant (often oleic acid). The fluid can be put into motion by placing the ferrofluid in a rotating magnetic field. Placing the fluid in a magnetic field gradient along with a temperature gradient will also cause motion that is similar to natural convection due to gravity. Ferrofluids are used as sealants and lubricants in pumps, computer hard drives, and crystal growing apparatus. These applications use a permanent magnet around the seal to prevent the lubricant from leaking, which insures a dust-free interior to various devices. Recently, there has been an increased interest in ferrofluids in a rotating magnetic field and for use as coolants in situations where natural convection is now used, such as in electrical transformers. The ferrofluid can also cause free convection in space, where natural convection is not possible. CFD is being used to analyze flow situations (both laminar and turbulent flow) in order to better understand the properties of ferrofluids and compare predictions on new theories to the experimental data. This project also interfaces with experimental work being done on Atomic Force Microscopes.
CFD is also being used to study flow and diffusion in microfluidic devices, in conjunction with other research programs. Computer methods are used to model the diffusion in T-sensors, isoelectric focusing, and to predict pressure drops in device geometries that are used for microfluidic devices.
Selected Publications:
CFD studies have been done on ferrofluid flow problems, microfluidic devices, as well as the evaporation of liquid metals, a person swallowing, field-ion microscope, and the movement of chemicals in the body:
Cabrera, C. R., Finlayson, B. A., Yager, P., "Formation of natural pH gradients in a microfluidic device under flow conditions: Model and experimental validation", Analytical Chemistry 73 658-666 (2001).
B. M. Rosendall and B. A. Finlayson, "Reactor/Transport Models for Design: How to Teach Students & Practitioners to Use the Computer Wisely," Fifth Int. Conf. Foundations of Computer-Aided Process Design, Breckenridge, CO, July 18-23, 1999, M. F. Malone and J. A. Trainham (ed.), AIChE Symposium Series No. 323, 96 176-191 (2000).
Tangthieng, C; B. A. Finlayson, J. Maulbetsch, T. Cader, "Heat transfer enhancement in ferrofluids subjected to steady magnetic fields" J. Mag. Mag. Mat. 201, 252-255 (1999).
Kamholz, A.E., B. H. Weigl, B. A. Finlayson, and P. Yager, "Quantitative Analysis of Molecular Interaction in a Microfluidic Channel: the T-Sensor," Analytical Chemistry 71 5340-5347 (1999).
K. W. Westerberg, M. A. McClelland, and B. A. Finlayson, "Finite Element Analysis of Flow, Heat Transfer, and Free Interfaces in an Electron-Beam Vaporization System for Metals", International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 26 637-655 (1998).
Michael W. Chang, Brigette Rosendall, and Bruce A. Finlayson, "Mathematical Modeling of Normal Pharyngeal Bolus Transport - A Preliminary Study", Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 35 327-334 (1998).
D. L. Scovell, T. D. Pinkerton, B. A. Finlayson, E. M. Stuve, "The dielectric response of water in high electric fields: equilibrium water thickness and the field distribution," Chem. Phys. Lett. 294 255-261 (1998).
M. B. Cutlip, Bruce A. Finlayson and many others, "Chemical Engineering Problems with Solutions," Comp. Appl. Eng. Educ. 6 169-180 (1998).
Christophe A. Poulain, Bruce A. Finlayson, and James B. Bassingthwaighte, "Efficient numerical methods for non-linear facilitated transport and exchange in a blood-tissue exchange unit", Annals of Biomedical Engineering 25 547-564 (1997).
Recent M.S. Theses
Recent Ph.D. Dissertations
