Dr. Mata received her Ph.D. degree in Fluid Mechanics from the University of Minnesota in 1998, and her B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Simon Bolivar, Venezuela in 1990.
While working at the research center of Venezuelan oil company PDVSA-Intevep, Clara pursued graduate studies in Fluid Mechanics at the Aerospace and Mechanics Department of University of Minnesota under Prof. Dan Joseph. She also had the opportunity to work within interdisciplinary teams which included other engineers, university professors, and internationally recognized consultants. Clara has substantial experience studying and modeling fluids behavior; particularly, she has studied and modeled the rheological behavior of heavy oil in water emulsions, self lubricated flow of a bitumen froth, and multiphase flow (gas-liquid flow and particle transport by liquid and gas/liquid flows). She has also studied and designed drilling muds. These muds are very complex fluids, usually made out of several materials such as water, oil, gas, solid particles, polymers, etc.
Power law and composite power law friction factor correlations for laminar and turbulent gas-liquid flow in horizontal pipelines, Int. J. Multiphase Flow 29(10) 1605-1604 (2003), Stability of stratified gas-liquid flows, Int. J. Multiphase Flow 28(8) 1249-1268 (2002); Sedimentation of highly concentrated oil in water emulsion, workshop in Applied. Fluid. Mech., Penn. State Univ., Pennsylvania, 1999; Self-lubricated transport of bitumen froth, JFM 386, pp.127-148 (1999); Foam control using a fluidized bed, Int. J. Multiphase Flow 25 (1999) 63-85; Delayed die swell and sedimentation of ellongated particles in wormlike micellar solutions, J. Non-Newt. Fluid Mech. 79 (1998) 157-171; Flow characteristics of concentrated emulsions of very viscous oil in water, J. Rheol. 40(3) 405-423 (1996) and IUTAM Symposium on Lubricated Transport of Viscous Materials (1997) 65-84.
PATENTS