The Particle Technology Group (PTG) is a multidisciplinary group, headed by Professor Indresan Govender, that straddles two Universities: the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) and the University of Cape Town (UCT).

The PTG uses nuclear imaging techniques (PEPT and X-rays) to track the motion of individual particles (rocks, sand, beads, gases, etc) within complex flow systems found in industry (mills, mixers, etc), nature (landslides, mudslides, avalanches, etc) and medicine (blood and airflow—see our Sleep Apnea research page for more information).

By tracking a single representative particle for a sufficiently long time, we are able to map out the typical flow pattern of that particular particle species. The flow pattern provides the fundamental measurements at the continuum scale.

Computational modelling via the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) also captures the microscale information that are typically difficult to measure but crucial to better understanding the dynamics governing the flow system.

The measurements derived from experiment and computation provide complimentary information towards the formulation of a continuum description of the flow. In many cases we seek to understand the underlying rheology governing the complex mixture of particles and viscous suspensions. The resulting insights allow us to make meaningful and unique predictions for complex industrial, biological and natural flow systems.