This research initiative has worked mainly on two broad areas. First, the modeling of granular system dynamics is carried out using a discrete particle simulation technique. Specifically, the material flow in a hopper is being investigated. A considerable amount of downtime in processing plants is attributed to hopper failure. Therefore, the visualization of material flow provides substantial insight, which is critical for hopper design and maintenance.

The second focus area is modeling fine particle grinding. Fine particles are ubiquitous in our everyday life. However, the energy expenditure increases exponentially as the particle size decreases. Some of the existing theories of conventional particle size reduction require modification in order to improve their applicability in the case of fine grinding (Powder Technology, 2006). It is anticipated that this improved modeling framework will enable better process control of the fine grinding operation.