Publication | 徐小萌：发表顶尖论文，“gap”出全新境界
GTIIT PUBLICATION
充实而忙碌的暑假接近尾声，广以学子迎来硕果累累的金秋九月。广东以色列理工学院化学工程专业2017级毕业生徐小萌毕业后继续留校担任科研助理，近日以第一作者身份在国际化工领域公认的三大经典刊物之一《Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research》上发表论文。与此同时，本科阶段便在科研方面有所斩获的她还收获了心仪的德国慕尼黑工业大学化学生物技术专业的研究生offer，即将前往欧洲开启人生新篇章。
PUBLICATION
《Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research》是美国化学会（ACS）旗下工程技术领域顶级期刊，旨在发表全球化学工程应用领域内最新的高质量原创性研究。论文题为《运用粗粒化离散元-计算流体动力学耦合模型对不规则形状砂粒的流态化行为模拟研究》（“Coarse-Grained DEM-CFD Simulation of Fluidization Behavior of Irregular Shape Sand Particles”），广以化学工程专业副教授高希为文章通讯作者，机械工程专业副教授李程为第二作者。
由于颗粒形状的解析和模拟复杂且耗时（费用高昂），因此对不规则形状砂粒的流态化进行精确建模和模拟具有挑战性。该研究采用粗粒化离散元（CG-DEM）-计算流体动力学（CFD）耦合模型，即通过将一定数量的物理粒子模化成一个虚拟颗粒，来提高传统CFD-DEM的计算可行性。
“一项科技成果从实验室到真正进入工厂生产、实现产业化推广之前，搭建模型进行模拟是至关重要的一步。”小萌介绍，“我们的工作就是以实验室结果为基础，通过搭建相对准确的模拟反应器，减少模拟的时间和成本损耗，为日后顺利投产做准备。如何设计相匹配的管道尺寸？是否需要考虑内容物在管道中的摩擦损耗？内容物是否会相互反应等等，这些都是需要考虑的问题。”
在研究中，课题组修正了CGDEM-CFD模型，引入滚动摩擦模型，模拟了流化床中不规则形状砂粒的流态化行为，并评估了几个关键模型设置参数以识别关键模型因素。同时，通过将模拟结果与实验数据进行比较，该论文量化了模型参数对流体动力学的影响。结果表明，滚动摩擦模型的应用可以提高非球形砂粒流态化行为的模拟精度，论文中建立的模型在保证了一定模拟准确性的前提下加快了模拟效率。
出于对模拟计算领域的兴趣，小萌在本科阶段加入高希教授的课题组，并参与了化工多相流反应器的多尺度建模和应用研究。2021年毕业后，徐小萌并没有像大部分同学一样直接出国深造，而是决定主动开启“gap year”（间隔年）的生活：作为课题组科研助理留在广以继续开展科研工作，同时不放弃对心仪的德国院校的追求，努力提升自己，希望能够以更好的精神面貌、更高的科学素养前往欧洲深造。
这个阳光爱笑的女孩坦言，在当代快节奏的竞争中踏出“gap year”的一步需要勇气，但这一年也让她收获了许多。这个夏天，在顶级期刊上发表论文的同时，徐小萌也如愿收获德国慕尼黑工业大学化学生物技术专业的研究生offer，将“gap year”诠释出有所选择、有所收获的全新境界。
慕尼黑工业大学始建于1868年，是享有国际盛誉的世界顶尖大学，迄今为止已培养了17位诺贝尔奖得主。在国际各类大学排名中，连续多年在德国排名第一，也是德国TU9联盟大学之一。
徐小萌与导师高希合影
导师高希对徐小萌的出色表现赞不绝口：“小萌有很强的钻研精神，不仅通过大量阅读文献对研究方向有比较深入的认识，还进行了大量的流体力学计算，得到了很好的结果。她是一个有远大目标的学生，更可贵的是能朝自己的目标不懈努力。在日常相处中，她也有很强的组织能力，课题组的活动都由她负责组织安排，一切都有条不紊地进行。”
徐小萌在学术会议上发言
作为“广以一期”的优秀毕业生，小萌与母校一起成长，蜕变成为一名具有创新能力、全球视野和人文素养的卓越新青年。她认为，全英教学环境虽是挑战，但更能让学子们尽早适应国际化的学术环境。更重要的是，广以给了学生们自由探索的广阔空间，“我能够根据自己的兴趣尝试不同的课题组，也能前往‘大咖云集’的学术会议上发表成果，这让我的能力得到了很大的锻炼。”回望在广以的“研学”之路取得的种种成绩，除了大学期间的沉淀和积累，小萌更对导师充满感激：“有困难，就找高希老师！高老师手把手地带每一个课题组的学生，经常鼓励我们大胆去尝试，引导我们发挥所学，大胆尝试科研创新。”
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10月，小萌即将结束“gap year”，启程前往德国留学深造。“人生是一场马拉松而不是竞速跑，保持自己的节奏，有想做的事，就大胆去做！”
GTIIT Undergraduate Xu Xiaomeng Published an Article in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research as the First Author
While the busy season came to an end, GTers are now enjoying the harvest autumn. Recently, Xu Xiaomeng, an undergraduate student from Class of 2021 majoring in Chemical Engineering at Guangdong Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT), published an academic article as the first author during her working as a research assistant at GTIIT, on the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, one of the top three journals in the Chemical Engineering field. At the same time, she received the offer from Technical University of Munich (TUM) and will start her new journey of further study in Europe.
PUBLICATION
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry is the leading journal in the field of engineering published by the American Chemical Society (ACS). It is a weekly publication that reports latest high-quality original industrial and academic research in the broad fields of applied chemistry and chemical and biomolecular/biochemical engineering. The article by Xu Xiaomeng is titled “Coarse-Grained DEM-CFD Simulation of Fluidization Behavior of Irregular Shape Sand Particles”. Gao Xi, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Program at GTIIT, is the corresponding author of this article, and Li Cheng, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Program at GTIIT, is the second author.
Accurate modeling and simulation of irregular shape sand particle fluidization are challenging as particle shape-resolved simulation is complex and time-consuming. In this study, the coarse-grained discrete element model (CG-DEM)-computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was adopted to improve the computational feasibility of traditional CFD–DEM and simplify the mathematical modeling by lumping a certain amount of physical particles into a numerical parcel.
Xiaomeng introduced that their job focuses on the transformation of scientific achievement by building models, which is crucial for industrialization. “Based on the lab results, we are trying to establish a relatively accurate simulation reactor, in order to reduce the time and cost as much as possible. There are many factors to think about. For example, the pipe size, the loss caused by the friction, the reaction between the materials, etc.,” Xiaomeng explained.
In the research, 3D CGDEM–CFD simulated the fluidization behavior of irregular shape sand particles in a fluidized bed, and several key parameters or model settings were assessed to identify critical model factors. Moreover, the impact of the model parameters on hydrodynamics was quantified by comparing the simulation results with the experimental data. The results demonstrate that applying a rolling friction model can increase the simulation accuracy of the fluidization behavior of non-spherical sand particles. The model not only ensuring the accuracy of the simulation but also ensuring the calculating efficiency.
Out of her interest in Modeling, Xiaomeng joined Prof. Gao Xi’s research team and participated in the multi-scale modeling and application research of Chemical Engineering Multiphase Fluid Reactor. After graduation, she decided to start a gap year in GTIIT, unlike most of her classmates going abroad for further study. Xiaomeng worked as a research assistant in Prof. Gao’s group and prepared for application to Germany. The girl always with a bright smile admitted that it took courage to step into a gap year. This summer, Xiaomeng published her research article and finally received the offer from her dream school. She will go to study Chemical Biotechnology at the TUM.
Ever since its founding in 1868, TUM has been world-renowned and has the prestige of having produced 17 Nobel Prize winners. It is consistently ranked first among Germany universities and also one of the leading universities in the European Union. TUM stands at the top in the TU9, the alliance of nine leading Technical Universities in Germany.
Xiaomeng(right) with Prof. Gao Xi
Prof. Gao Xi also gave a high recognition to her. “Xiaomeng has a strong desire for science. By reading many academic articles and doing a lot of calculations in Fluid Dynamics, she gained a deep understanding for this field and obtained good results. Xiaomeng is a student with a big goal, and what is more valuable is that she never stops. She is also responsible for organizing all the activities for the research group and everything is carried out in an orderly manner.”
Xiaomeng at the
Academic Conference
Being the first cohort of graduates of GTIIT, Xiaomeng grew with her alma mater and became a pioneering youth with innovation power, global vision and humanities. In her view, the English-medium environment in GTIIT campus is a challenge for the Chinese students, but also enables them to adapt to the international academic environment. More importantly, it allows students to explore freely. “I can try different research groups according to my own interests, and I can also go to international academic conferences to present my results, which has greatly improved my ability." Looking back to the research and study life in GTIIT, Xiaomeng is grateful to her mentor Prof. Gao Xi. She said, “If you have difficulties, go to find Prof. Gao! He is willing to teach every student in our research group hand in hand, and often encourages us to practice what we have learned."
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Xiaomeng will end her gap year in October and sets off for Germany to start her postgraduate study. "Life is a marathon, not a speed race. Keep your pace. If you want to do something, go for it!" Xiaomeng said.
文/图：GTIIT传媒与公共事务部、徐小萌
Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs, Xu Xiaomeng
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