Computational optimization of the vortex manufacturing of advanced materials (Q5948240)

A key component of the success of many modern structural designs is the use of materials with microscopically tailored overall properties. A method to obtain desired macroscopic material behavior consists in adding microscopic second-phase particles to the base material. The macroscopic behavior of modified base material is the aggregate response of particles suspended in the matrix binder. In this regard, a relatively standard manufacturing process is the vortex method, whereby loose particulate additives are stirred into a vortex of molten matrix material. Here the author proposes a computational strategy to simulate and accelerate the development of tailored dispersed-type materials manufactured with vortex method.