PhD supervision
Interested in supervising students studying;
- Green cleaning
- Surface fouling and cleaning
- Sensors and instrumentation for surface measurement
- Two-phase flow computational modelling
- Membrane efficiencies.
Dr John Chew
BCom, BEng, PhD (Cantab), CEng, CSci, MIChemE
Profile
Dr Chew studied for BCom (Accounting) and BEng Hons (Chemical and Process Engineering) at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
He obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. He then worked at Cambridge as a Research Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering before joining Bath in 2010.
Research
Dr Chew’s research interests lie in the following two areas, with particular applications in the food and biotechnology industries.
Green Cleaning
Fouling of process surfaces is a major problem in many manufacturing and heat transfer operations.
The removal of fouling layers from process surfaces, i.e. cleaning, is a mundane but critically important task in many applications, particularly where hygiene is the key consideration.
John has been working on research related to fouling and cleaning of surface layers in the food, chemical, biological and medical sectors. His work has lasting positive impact on the ongoing issues of ‘greener’ environment and energy sustainability, in that both fouling and cleaning require extra energy to be expended, and cleaning requires the use of chemicals whose supply and disposal can be problematic.
John’s research activities are focused around:
- Developing fluid dynamic gauging (FDG) into a surface engineering sensor for monitoring the thickness and strength of soft-solids (with University of Cambridge)
- Fundamental studies of the formation and removal characteristics of soft deposits on porous (e.g. filter and membranes) and non-porous surfaces (e.g. steel, polymers and tailored surfaces)
- Combine experimental studies with numerical modelling of the deformation of the surface layers to assess the performance of surface coatings and enhance cleaning and the effectiveness of environmentally friendly cleaning agen
Recent work includes:
- the application of FDG to investigate the deposition and removal of yeast and ballotini cake layers form on curved membranes, and biofilms formed on stainless steel and glass
- The Green Cleaning Laboratory at Bath masters the application of FDG to porous surfaces.
There is strong collaboration with University of Cambridge, Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany and University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
Computational Fluid Dynamics
The rheology of soft fouling layer is rarely simply elastic or Newtonian. The deformation and flow behaviours are largely affected by its microstructure, and the microstructure is modified by the flow of surrounding fluid. Fusing FDG, CFD and microscopic (confocal, optical and atomic force microscopy) data sets will enable the characterisation of the material rheology and deformation behaviour more completely. John’s research work involves:
- Modelling the fluid-structure interaction soft fouling layers
- Modelling the flow behaviour of slurries and pastes
- Design and optimisation of the fluid dynamic gauging system
- Ongoing project includes combining FDG-CFD-optical imaging to study the deposition of food soils on fabrics and membranes.
Other computational interests are modelling the mass transfer characteristics in hollow fibre applications and heat transfer mechanisms of a spinning disk apparatus.
Teaching
- Transport Phenomena
- Particle Technology
- Technical Review
- MEng Design Project
- BEng Design Project.
Publications
Articles
Ali, A., Chapman, G.J., Chew, Y.M.J., Gu, T., Paterson, W.R. and Wilson, D.I., 2013. A fluid dynamic gauging device for measuring fouling deposit thickness in opaque liquids at elevated temperature and pressure. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 48, pp. 19-28.
Lewis, W. J. T., Chew, Y. M. J. and Bird, M. R., 2012. The application of fluid dynamic gauging in characterising cake deposition during the cross-flow microfiltration of a yeast suspension. Journal of Membrane Science, 405-406, pp. 113-122.
Huang, J. Y., Chew, Y. M. J. and Wilson, I. D., 2012. A spinning disc study of fouling of cold heat transfer surfaces by gel formation from model food fat solutions. Journal of Food Engineering, 109 (1), pp. 49-61.
Augustin, W., Chew, Y. M. J., Gordon, P. W., Lister, V. Y., Mayer, M., Paterson, B. R., Peralta, J. M., Scholl, S. and Wilson, D. I., 2012. Dynamic Gauging of Soft Fouling Layers on Solid and Porous Surfaces. Chemie Ingenieur Technik, 84 (1-2), pp. 46-53.
Gordon, P. W., Brooker, A. D. M., Chew, Y. M. J., Letzelter, N., York, D. W. and Wilson, D. I., 2012. Elucidating enzyme-based cleaning of protein soils (gelatine and egg yolk) using a scanning fluid dynamic gauge. Chemical Engineering Research & Design, 90 (1), pp. 162-171.
Jones, S. A., Chew, Y. M. J., Wilson, D. I. and Bird, M. R., 2012. Fluid dynamic gauging of microfiltration membranes fouled with sugar beet molasses. Journal of Food Engineering, 108 (1), pp. 22-29.
Peralta, J. M., Chew, Y. M. J. and Wilson, D. I., 2011. Effect of nozzle external geometry on the pressure and shear stress exerted on the surface being gauged in fluid dynamic gauging. Chemical Engineering Research & Design, 89 (12), pp. 2540-2551.
Peralta, J. M., Chew, Y. M. J. and Wilson, D. I., 2011. An analytical method for selecting the optimal nozzle external geometry for fluid dynamic gauging. Chemical Engineering Science, 66 (16), pp. 3579-3591.
Gu, T., Albert, F., Augustin, W., Chew, Y. M. J., Mayer, M., Paterson, W. R., Scholl, S., Sheikh, I., Wang, K. and Wilson, D. I., 2011. Application of fluid dynamic gauging to annular test apparatuses for studying fouling and cleaning. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 35 (3), pp. 509-520.
Gu, T., Albert, F., Augustin, W., Chew, Y. M. J., Paterson, W. R., Scholl, S., Sheikh, I., Wang, K. and Wilson, D. I., 2011. Fluid dynamic gauging applied to annular test apparatuses for fouling and cleaning. Heat Transfer Engineering, 32 (3-4), pp. 339-348.
Lister, V. Y., Lucas, C., Gordon, P. W., Chew, Y. M. J. and Wilson, D. I., 2011. Pressure mode fluid dynamic gauging for studying cake build-up in cross-flow microfiltration. Journal of Membrane Science, 366 (1-2), pp. 304-313.
Jones, S. A., Chew, Y. M. J., Bird, M. R. and Wilson, D. I., 2010. The application of fluid dynamic gauging in the investigation of synthetic membrane fouling phenomena. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 88 (4), pp. 409-418.
Gordon, P. W., Brooker, A. D. M., Chew, Y. M. J., Wilson, D. I. and York, D. W., 2010. A scanning fluid dynamic gauging technique for probing surface layers. Measurement Science & Technology, 21 (8), 085103.
Gordon, P. W., Brooker, A. D. M., Chew, Y. M. J., Wilson, D. I. and York, D. W., 2010. Studies into the swelling of gelatine films using a scanning fluid dynamic gauge. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 88 (C4), pp. 357-364.
Saikhwan, P., Mercade-Prieto, R., Chew, Y. M. J., Gunasekaran, S., Paterson, W. R. and Wilson, D. I., 2010. Swelling and dissolution in cleaning of whey protein gels. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 88 (C4), pp. 375-383.
Nigo, R. Y., Chew, Y. M. J., Houghton, N. E., Paterson, W. R. and Wilson, D. I., 2009. Experimental studies of freezing fouling of model food fat solutions using a novel spinning disc apparatus. Energy and Fuels, 23 (12), pp. 6131-6145.
Gu, T., Chew, Y. M. J., Paterson, W. R. and Wilson, D. I., 2009. Experimental and CFD studies of fluid dynamic gauging in annular flows. AIChE Journal, 55 (8), pp. 1937-1947.
Gu, T., Chew, Y. M. J., Paterson, W. R. and Wilson, D. I., 2009. Experimental and CFD studies of fluid dynamic gauging in duct flows. Chemical Engineering Science, 64 (2), pp. 219-227.
Elhweg, B., Burns, I. W., Chew, Y. M. J., Martin, P. J., Russell, A. B. and Wilson, D. I., 2009. Viscous dissipation and apparent wall slip in capillary rheometry of ice cream. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 87 (C4), pp. 266-272.
Sahoo, P. K., Chew, Y. M. J., Mercade-Prieto, R., Wilson, D. I. and Dai, X. W., 2008. Fluid dynamic gauging studies of swelling behaviour of whey protein gels in NaOH/NaCl solutions. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 43 (10), pp. 1901-1907.
Chew, Y. M. J., Paterson, W. R. and Wilson, D. I., 2007. Fluid dynamic gauging: A new tool to study deposition on porous surfaces. Journal of Membrane Science, 296 (1-2), pp. 29-41.
