Professor RB Thorpe
Professor of Multiphase Engineering
Member of Fluids Research Centre

Postal Address
Prof RB Thorpe
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (J2)
University of Surrey
GUILDFORD
Surrey, UK
GU2 7XH

Academic and Professional Qualifications

• MA, MEng, PhD, MIChemE, CEng, ILTM
  

Professional Activities

• Committee member of the I Chem E Particle Technology Subject Group
  

Research Interests

• Multiphase flows, including;
• Large gas bubbles/cavities in vertically downwards flows such as circulating loop fermenters/reactors
• Circulating Fluidised Beds (including solids flux measurement and residence time distributions)
• Transport of sand in multiphase oil/gas production flowlines
• Forces on pipe bends in gas-liquid phase flow
• Maldistribution in bubbling fluidised beds
• Sea- and produced-water caissons on offshore oil/gas production platforms
• The onset of natural convection in unsteady systems
• Hopper flows that involve significant inter-action with the interstitial fluid
• Shear cells for testing powders and other multiphase mixtures
  

Current Research Programmes

• Sand Transport (Part of Transient Multiphase Flow 2, and EPSRC funded and mlti-company sponsored research programme)
• Transient Hydrodynamic Loading (Part of Transient Multiphase Flow 2, and EPSRC funded and multi-company sponsored research programme)
• Entrainment of small bubbles and mass transfer from large bubbles at spargers in gas-liquid downflow 
  

Selected Recent Publications

• KK Tan and RB Thorpe (2003) Transient instability of the flow induced by an inpulsively started rotating cylinder, Chemical Engineering Science. 58, 149-156.
  
• AT Harris, RB Thorpe and JF Davidson (2003) The influence of exit geometry in circulating fluidised bed risers, AIChEJ, 49, 52-64.
• RB Thorpe, JF. Davidson, M Pollitt and J Smith (2002) Maldistribution in fluidised beds, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 41, 5878-5889.
  
• P Stevenson and RB Thorpe (2002) The velocity of isolated particles along a pipe smooth stratified gas-liquid flow, AIChEJ, 48, 963-969.
  
• BL Tay and RB Thorpe (2002) Forces on pipe bends due to slug flow, pp 281-300 in Multiphase Technology (Eds. C Sarica and G Gregory) BHR Group, Cranfield, UK (ISBN 1 85598 041 X)
  
• P Stevenson, RB Thorpe and JF Davidson (2002) The removal of a particle from deep within the viscous sub-layer at a pipe wall, Chemical Engineering Science, 57, 4505-4520.
  
• AT Harris, RB Thorpe and JF Davidson (2002) Characterisation of the annular film thickness in circulating fluidised-bed risers, Chemical Engineering Science, 57, 2579-2587.
  
• AT Harris, RB Thorpe and JF Davidson (2002) The prediction of cluster properties in the near wall region of a vertical riser, Powder Technology, 127,128-143.
  
• AT Harris, RB Thorpe and JF Davidson (2002) Stochastic modelling of the particle residence time distribution in circulating fluidised bed risers, Chemical Engineering Science, 57, 4779-4796.
  
• P Stevenson, RB Thorpe, JE Kennedy and C McDermott (2001) The transport of particles at low loading in near-horizontal pipes in intermittent flow, Chemical Engineering Science, 56, 2149-2159.
  
• RB Thorpe, GM Evans, K Zhang and P Machniewski (2001) Liquid recirculation and bubble breakup beneath ventilated gas cavities in downward pipe flow, Chemical Engineering Science, 56, 6399-6409.
  
• JF Davidson, RB Thorpe, O Al-Mansoori, H Kwong, M Peck and R Williamson (2001) Evaporation of water from air-fluidized porous particles, Chemical Engineering Science, 56, 6089-6097.
  
• RB Thorpe and P Stevenson (2001) Towards a correlation for the transport of particles at low loading in near horizontal intermittent flow, Chemical Engineering Science, 56, 2149-2159.
  
• EH van der Meer, RB Thorpe and JF Davidson (2000) Flow patterns in the square cross-section riser of a circulating fluidised bed and the effect of riser exit design, Chemical Engineering Science, 55, 4079-4099.
  
• SB Schut, EH van der Meer, RB Thorpe and JF Davidson (2000) Gas-solids flow in the diffuser of a circulating fluidised bed riser, Powder Technology, 111, 94-103.
  
• YH Lee, DM Scott and RB Thorpe (2000) Energy losses due to large bubbles beneath spargers in circulating bubble columns. Chemical Engineering Science, 55, 97-112.