Dr. Miguel Cabrera

His doctoral studies have been related to the simulation of geophysical flows as part of the European-funded MUMOLADE project. Within the MUMOLADE network, he investigated the interaction of granular suspensions immersed in a viscous dispersion in a large rotating drum and the behavior of granular flows in an augmented acceleration field in a geotechnical centrifuge. Using a rotating drum, he performed a parametric study on the interactions of sand, loess, kaolin and larger particles immersed in water. The observed behavior is excellent in capturing the complexity of granular mixtures under continuous shear conditions. Simultaneously, in the geotechnical centrifuge he designed and set-up a novel experimental model for the simulation of granular flows down an inclined plane. Sand, glass beads, and a viscous dispersion of kaolin and water were studied. The experimental results gave extraordinary insights into the interactions and scaling principles in such a multiphase media subjected to different driving accelerations. In these experiments, an increase in the centrifugal acceleration field results in an enhanced inertial motion at the particle-phase relative to the surrounding fluid. The award-winning poster: “Monodisperse granular flows in viscous dispersions in a centrifugal acceleration field”. After his promotion, Dr. Cabrera was offered a tenure track position as an assistant professor at the University of Los Andes (Bogota, Colombia).