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    The University of South Carolina
    Department of Chemical Engineering
    2C02, Swearingen Engineering Center
    301 South Main Street
    Columbia, SC 29208

    Ph 803.777.4181
    Fax 803.777.8265

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Thanasis D. Papathanasiou

Associate Professor


Professor Papathanasiou's interests center in the investigation of processing-structure-property relationships in composite materials and other multiphase systems. Our approach uses high performance computing on realistic meso-scale structures to investigate the influence of topology on the details of the stress, thermal, electrical and flow fields in such systems. These influences are a critical step in developing a better and quantitative understanding of the effect of structure on the performance of composite materials. Our simulations are carried out on geometries determined from real composite materials using large-area automated microscopy. One group of projects involves the use of the boundary element method, implemented on parallel distributed memory computers, to directly relate the elastic deformation of composites to their detailed structure. Quantification of the latter from digital micrographs is also of interest. Another project deals with the computational determination of flow patterns in the case of fluid flow through Structured Fibrous Porous Media (SFPM). Both Stokes- and finite-Reynolds-number flows are considered; the objective is to develop quantitative models for the effective permeability of SFPM as function of meso-structural parameters. In the area of processing we are interested in establishing how the meso-structure of a particle- or fiber-reinforced melt is affected by processing, particularly by the flows occurring during filling of cold cavities. Other projects of interest include environmentally conscious manufacturing of composite materials, injection molding of polymers and composites and transport phenomena in bioreactors and living systems.

Education
  • Ph.D., Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (1990) [Field: Polymer Processing (injection Molding)]
  • M.Sc., Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada (1987) [Field: Biochemical Engineering (Reactor Design)]
  • Chemical Engineering Diploma, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece (1984)
Selected Publications
  • B. Bijeljic, M. D. Mantle, A. J. Sederman, L. F. Gladden and T. D. Papathanasiou, "Slow flow across macroscopically semi-circular fibre lattices and a free flow region of variable width - visualisation by magnetic resonance imaging", Chemical Engineering Science, 59(10), pp. 2089-2103, 2004.
  • X. Chen and T. D. Papathanasiou, “Interface Stress Distributions in Transversely Loaded Continuous Fiber Composites: Parallel Computation in Multi-Fiber RVEs Using the Boundary Element Method" Composites Science & Technology, vol. 64, 1101-1114, 2004
  • B. Markicevic and T. D. Papathanasiou, "An Explicit Physics-Based Model for the Transverse Permeability of Multi-Material Dual Porosity Fibrous Media" Transport in Porous Media, 53(3), 265-280, 2003.
  • B. Markicevic and T. D. Papathanasiou, "A model for the transverse permeability of bi-material layered fibrous preforms" Polymer Composites, 24(1), 68-82, 2003.
  • S. C. Barwick and T. D. Papathanasiou, "Identification of Sample Preparation Defects in Automated Topological Characterization of Composite Materials" Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, 22(7), pp. 655-669, 2003.
Swearingen Engineering Center • Columbia, SC 29208 • 803.777.4177 • webmaster@engr.sc.edu