Scale-Bridging Techniques for Disperse Multiphase Flows
Abstract: Disperse multiphase systems—comprising interacting particles, droplets, and bubbles—exhibit rich collective behaviors, nonlinear dynamics, and emergent structures across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. These systems are central to many scientific and engineering challenges and play an essential role in multiple DOE mission areas, including national security, clean energy production, advanced manufacturing, and predictive modeling of high-speed ejecta and debris in explosive events. Despite their importance, the inherent multiscale nature of particle systems makes predictive modeling remarkably difficult. Microscale particle–fluid and particle–particle interactions strongly influence mesoscale clustering, dispersion, and instabilities, which in turn determine macroscale flow characteristics and material response.
Particle-resolved DNS offers unparalleled detail by resolving all relevant scales, but its computational cost is prohibitive for most engineering-scale applications. As a result, the development of reliable and physically grounded scale-bridging techniques—such as multiscale closure modeling, coarse-grained particle methods, data-driven surrogate models, and hybrid computational frameworks—has become a critical research frontier. This panel will bring together experts in multiphase flow physics, high-fidelity simulation, reduced-order modeling, and machine learning to discuss recent advances and emerging methodologies for bridging micro-, meso-, and macroscales in disperse multiphase flows. The session aims to highlight fundamental challenges, compare promising approaches, and identify opportunities for unifying physics-based and data-driven models to enable next-generation predictive simulations for DOE-relevant applications.
Past, Present, and Future of Fluid Mechanics
Panelists:
Zhongquan Charlie Zheng
Professor and Department Head
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
Utah State University
Theodore (Ted) Heindel
Bergles Professor of Thermal Science and University Professor
Mechanical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering (Courtesy)
Director, Center for Multiphase Flow Research and Education (CoMFRE)
Iowa State University
Fluids Engineering and CMFD Innovations for the Oil and Gas Industry
By MFTC of Fluids Engineering Division
Over the past two decades, fluid engineering has undergone a transformative evolution in the oil and gas industry. Computational Multiphase Fluid Dynamics (CMFD) has emerged as a cornerstone technology, enabling engineers to simulate, optimize, and innovate across a wide spectrum of applications. From drilling operations and reservoir management to pipeline transport and refining processes, CMFD has empowered engineers to tackle complex challenges with precision and efficiency.
This panel will seek to explore areas such as:
- Drilling Operations
- Reservoir Engineering
- Pipeline Transportation
- Process and Refining
- Offshore and Deepwater Operations
- Showcase recent advancements in fluid engineering and CMFD applications
- Share insights into emerging technologies and future directions
Panelists:
Dr. Gocha Chochua
Technical Advisor
SLB (formerly Schlumberger
Bio: Dr. Gocha Chochua is a Technical Advisor at SLB with extensive expertise in analytical and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), heat and mass transfer, turbomachinery design and analysis, and erosion modeling and mitigation. He holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida and brings broad industry experience across oil and gas, turbomachinery, and aerospace. Dr. Chochua has authored more than 40 scientific publications and holds a comparable number of patents, underscoring his significant contributions to engineering and technology innovation. He also serves as a Program Coordinator for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Gulf Coast Section.
Dr. Kuochen Tsai
Staff Engineer
Shell
Bio: Kuochen holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from SUNY Stony Brook and has been working in fluid mechanics and flow modeling for the past 30 years. He is currently Shell’s corporate expert on multiphase and complex flows. His Experience spans from upstream to downstream, including combustion heating and flow assurance for oil and gas production, proppant transport for hydraulic fracturing, flow assisted corrosion and erosion, fluidized bed reactor modeling for biofuel production and CO2 absorption, and chemical reactor design and optimization. He pioneered applications using probability density function for LDPE reactors, MP-PIC modeling of proppant transport, fluidized bed reactor design and scale-up, and machine learning approaches for corrosion and water/oil separation in pipe flows. Kuochen has more than 50 publications and patents and is a senior member of both AIChE and SPE. He also served as chairman and director for Chinese American Petroleum Association in Houston. In his spare time, Kuochen enjoys table tennis, cycling and traveling around the world.
Prof. Siamack Shirazi
ASME Fellow, Director, Erosion/Corrosion Research Center
University of Tulsa
Bio: Siamack A. Shirazi is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Erosion/Corrosion Research Center (E/CRC) at The University of Tulsa (TU). He is also the Director and Co‑Founder of the TU Sand Management Projects (TUSMP). Over 36 years at TU, he has produced more than 770 professional outputs, including peer‑reviewed papers, conference publications, and invited presentations. His teaching and research have advanced erosion mitigation technologies for the oil and gas, mining, and renewable energy industries.
Professor Shirazi is internationally recognized for his leadership in erosion prediction and sand management. He and his team at E/CRC developed widely used models for erosion rate prediction and threshold velocity estimation. These models form the basis of the SPPS (Sand Production Pipe Saver) software—also known as the “Tulsa Model”—a tool extensively used by engineers for facility design, redesign, and equipment sizing. Under his direction, E/CRC has grown into TU’s largest Joint Industry Project, supported by 17 major operators and service companies.
His honors include the NACE Technical Achievement Award, ASME and NACE Fellow distinctions, the ASME FED Moody Best Paper Award, the SPE International Projects, Facilities, and Construction Award, the ASME Petroleum Fluids Engineering Award, TU’s Best Researcher Award, and the SPE International Distinguished Member Award. He is currently TU’s most cited active scientist.
Anchal Jatale
Manager, Application Engineering-Energy, Chemical & Process
Synopsys Inc.
Bio: Anchal Jatale manages the team of application engineers working in the Energy, Chemical and Process industry at Ansys part of Synopsys. He has over15 years' experience in CFD modeling and simulations. For the past few years, he has been spearheading Ansys Digital engineering engagements in O&G and the energy industry. His expertise is in reduced order modeling, system modeling, reacting flow, combustion, and multi-phase flow. Prior to joining Ansys, he received his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah and bachelors in chemical Engineering from Indian institute of technology (IIT), Kanpur.
Organizers:
Dr. Yong Chang, SLB, Houston, TX, yongchangxyz@gmail.com
Dr. Jian Liu, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, jian.liu@pnnl.gov