Multiphase flows as a research area focus on the physics, modeling, and numerical simulation of flows involving more than one thermodynamic phase (e.g., gas–liquid, liquid–solid, gas–solid, or gas–liquid–solid systems). The field investigates interfacial dynamics, phase distribution, momentum, mass, and heat transfer between phases, and the onset of instabilities and flow regime transitions. Research emphasizes constitutive modeling (e.g., Euler–Euler and Euler–Lagrange frameworks), closure relations for interphase forces and turbulence, high-fidelity experimental diagnostics, and advanced computational methods to predict and control multiphase behavior in applications such as energy systems, chemical reactors, and environmental flows.
When NASA's Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean April 10, completing a successful Artemis II mission milestone, a critical piece of the spacecraft's safe return traced back to research at Rice University.
Space Exploration
12 hours ago
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A humble droplet can be an immensely useful tool for a number of fields, from medicine to manufacturing. Controlling the size of the droplet, though, is an important—and very tricky—task. With unprecedented precision, a team ...
Soft Matter
Mar 19, 2026
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What governs the speed at which raindrops fall, sediment settles in river estuaries, and matter is ejected during a supernova? These questions circle around one, deceitfully simple factor: the rate at which a fluid filled ...
General Physics
Mar 11, 2026
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In industrial plants around the world, tiny bubbles cause big problems. Bubbles clog filters, disrupt chemical reactions, reduce throughput during biomanufacturing, and can even cause overheating in electronics and nuclear ...
Soft Matter
Feb 26, 2026
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Water droplets have a unique ability: They can leap from a surface on their own. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as when a surface repels water or when heat is involved, such as a water or oil droplet skittering ...
General Physics
Feb 26, 2026
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Researchers led by Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1357 Microplastics at the University of Bayreuth have overturned a common scientific assumption in a new study: Microplastic particles do not all exhibit similar transport ...
Environment
Feb 3, 2026
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Researchers at the University of Maine and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are collaborating on a new way to dry non-aggregated cellulose nanofiber—a material that could replace ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 31, 2026
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Engineers have long battled a problem that can cause loud, damaging oscillations inside gas turbines and aircraft engines: combustion instability. These unwanted pressure fluctuations create vibrations so intense that they ...
General Physics
Jan 31, 2026
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31
The precise control of tiny droplets on surfaces is essential for advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and next‐generation lab‐on‐a‐chip diagnostics. However, once droplet volume reaches pico- and nanoliter scales, the ...
Nanophysics
Jan 30, 2026
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117
What happens if liquefied natural gas (LNG) hits the wall of the cargo tanks in a ship? New research from the team of physicist Devaraj van der Meer from the University of Twente, published in the Proceedings of the National ...
Soft Matter
Jan 26, 2026
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