Dr Rybdylova is one of 101 recipients to benefit from UK Research and Innovation’s flagship scheme, which has invested a total of £109m in the fellows and is designed to establish the careers of world-class research and innovation leaders across the UK.
A graduate of the prestigious Moscow State University in Russia, Dr Rybdylova joined the University of Brighton in 2013 and specialises in multiphase flows, such as droplets or dust particles in the air, and focuses on modelling sprays using mathematical and numerical techniques.
The four-year research funding will allow her to build a team to develop and test a novel approach to modelling sprays and produce free, open software to permit easy access to the model. The team will work on specialised solutions for inhalers and fuel sprays, looking at the complex composition of liquids and the specifics of the flows.
Dr Rybdylova said: “When talking about modelling sprays, the question is how many droplets are there in different locations in space and how these numbers vary with time as the droplets travel and evaporate? In the most popular approach used in engineering at the moment, you have to track each droplet individually – you don’t have to do that in the new model.
“This model is based on advanced maths, and this allows to get more information about droplet distribution, which makes it more efficient, faster and more accurate.”
The droplet distribution model will aid other researchers and scientists in the short-term with the aim that industry specialists will use it in the future.