Proyectos

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""]The rapid increase in immigration and the presence of different Indigenous peoples in the country have resulted in culturally diverse classrooms in Chile. Cultural differences are significant for communication (Otten & Geppert, 2009) and teaching processes (Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013). Hence, intercultural interactions correspond to embodied culture discourses (Carbaugh, 2017; Shi-xu, 2023), which entail the communication practices that take place at institutional levels (i.e., top-down) and language classrooms (i.e., bottom-up). However, some tensions have been identified in these processes, particularly because they seem to maintain cultural and linguistic hierarchies that do not necessarily promote the social mobility or acceptance of minoritized groups (Flores & Rosa, 2015; Unamuno, 2016; Zavala, 2017). Against this backdrop, discursive practices are at the core of how these raciolinguistic hierarchies are maintained, negotiated, and/or challenged by educational communities. Consequently, the main objective of this research proposal is to examine how language and interculturality are discursively conceptualized and implemented in culturally diverse Chilean schools, specifically within three language subjects: Spanish, Ancestral Languages, and English as a Foreign Language. This objective is articulated through the following research question: How are language and interculturality discursively conceptualized and implemented in culturally diverse Chilean schools across the subjects of Spanish, Ancestral Languages, and English as a Foreign Language? To address this question, the project outlines four specific objectives (SOs): SO1) To examine how interculturality is discursively constructed in educational policies and the national curriculum on language subjects (i.e., Spanish, Ancestral Languages, and English as a Foreign Language); SO2) To assess how language teachers understand and implement intercultural practices in Chile, highlighting areas of convergence and divergence; SO3) To analyze how school communities discursively construct interculturality on their schoolscapes; and SO4) To analyze how language teachers’ actions and decisions address interculturality in the language classroom. The proposed research is a mixed-methods study (Creswell & Plano, 2018). First, we will analyze a corpus of institutional pedagogical discourses to examine how interculturality is discursively constructed in educational policies and the national curriculum (SO1). To this end, the data will be examined from a Corpus-Assisted Approach to Discourse Studies (CADS) (Partington et al., 2013) following the guidelines proposed by Jaworska and Kinloch (2018, p. 116) for a thorough and systematic examination of multiple datasets in CADS. The first quantitative stage considers the analysis of frequency, concordance lines, collocations, and keywords. The second qualitative stage is informed by Bacchi's (2012) model, What's the Problem Represented to be? (or WPR) and the Discourse-Historical Approach (Reisigl, 2017; Reisigl & Wodak, 2016). Second, we will conduct a questionnaire to identify how language teachers understand interculturality and intercultural practices in their classrooms (SO2). The sampling considers a disproportionate stratification to enable similar sample sizes for Spanish and EFL teachers, and Traditional Educators, ensuring the representation of Traditional Educators, who are the smallest population (CEM Mineduc, 2024). Third, we will analyze how school communities discursively construct interculturality on their school grounds (SO3) through the examination of schoolscapes (Gorter & Cenoz, 2015). To this end, three schools across three regions will be selected (i.e., Tarapacá, Metropolitan, and Araucanía) to ensure geographic representativeness. The data will be analyzed in light of Ledin and Machin’s multimodality framework (2017, 2018, 2019) as it incorporates the materiality of the semiotic signs, the ideologies and beliefs behind the creation of multimodal texts, and the recontextualization of social actors and practices (van Leeuwen, 2008). Finally, we analyze the actions and decisions language teachers take to address interculturality in the language classroom (SO4) through classroom observation (minimum 48 pedagogical hours in total; four hours per language subject) in the same schools. These observations will be analyzed using the synopsis technique (Dolz et al., 2018; Schneuwly & Dolz, 2009), which allows us to both hierarchize central pedagogical sequences and examine teachers' actions and students' reactions in detail. In turn, it enables data reduction and serves as heuristic support for analysis. Expected results seek to enlighten how educators co-create language and interculturality in culturally diverse schools. It examines how these social actors recontextualize and mediate top-down policies to their daily realities, thus illuminating the negotiation and resemiotization of hegemonic understandings of interculturality in line with the needs of their own communities (bottom-up practices).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""]The rapid increase in immigration and the presence of different Indigenous peoples in the country have resulted in culturally diverse classrooms in Chile. Cultural differences are significant for communication (Otten & Geppert, 2009) and teaching processes (Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013). Hence, intercultural interactions correspond to embodied culture discourses (Carbaugh, 2017; Shi-xu, 2023), which entail the communication practices that take place at institutional levels (i.e., top-down) and language classrooms (i.e., bottom-up). However, some tensions have been identified in these processes, particularly because they seem to maintain cultural and linguistic hierarchies that do not necessarily promote the social mobility or acceptance of minoritized groups (Flores & Rosa, 2015; Unamuno, 2016; Zavala, 2017). Against this backdrop, discursive practices are at the core of how these raciolinguistic hierarchies are maintained, negotiated, and/or challenged by educational communities. Consequently, the main objective of this research proposal is to examine how language and interculturality are discursively conceptualized and implemented in culturally diverse Chilean schools, specifically within three language subjects: Spanish, Ancestral Languages, and English as a Foreign Language. This objective is articulated through the following research question: How are language and interculturality discursively conceptualized and implemented in culturally diverse Chilean schools across the subjects of Spanish, Ancestral Languages, and English as a Foreign Language? To address this question, the project outlines four specific objectives (SOs): SO1) To examine how interculturality is discursively constructed in educational policies and the national curriculum on language subjects (i.e., Spanish, Ancestral Languages, and English as a Foreign Language); SO2) To assess how language teachers understand and implement intercultural practices in Chile, highlighting areas of convergence and divergence; SO3) To analyze how school communities discursively construct interculturality on their schoolscapes; and SO4) To analyze how language teachers’ actions and decisions address interculturality in the language classroom. The proposed research is a mixed-methods study (Creswell & Plano, 2018). First, we will analyze a corpus of institutional pedagogical discourses to examine how interculturality is discursively constructed in educational policies and the national curriculum (SO1). To this end, the data will be examined from a Corpus-Assisted Approach to Discourse Studies (CADS) (Partington et al., 2013) following the guidelines proposed by Jaworska and Kinloch (2018, p. 116) for a thorough and systematic examination of multiple datasets in CADS. The first quantitative stage considers the analysis of frequency, concordance lines, collocations, and keywords. The second qualitative stage is informed by Bacchi's (2012) model, What's the Problem Represented to be? (or WPR) and the Discourse-Historical Approach (Reisigl, 2017; Reisigl & Wodak, 2016). Second, we will conduct a questionnaire to identify how language teachers understand interculturality and intercultural practices in their classrooms (SO2). The sampling considers a disproportionate stratification to enable similar sample sizes for Spanish and EFL teachers, and Traditional Educators, ensuring the representation of Traditional Educators, who are the smallest population (CEM Mineduc, 2024). Third, we will analyze how school communities discursively construct interculturality on their school grounds (SO3) through the examination of schoolscapes (Gorter & Cenoz, 2015). To this end, three schools across three regions will be selected (i.e., Tarapacá, Metropolitan, and Araucanía) to ensure geographic representativeness. The data will be analyzed in light of Ledin and Machin’s multimodality framework (2017, 2018, 2019) as it incorporates the materiality of the semiotic signs, the ideologies and beliefs behind the creation of multimodal texts, and the recontextualization of social actors and practices (van Leeuwen, 2008). Finally, we analyze the actions and decisions language teachers take to address interculturality in the language classroom (SO4) through classroom observation (minimum 48 pedagogical hours in total; four hours per language subject) in the same schools. These observations will be analyzed using the synopsis technique (Dolz et al., 2018; Schneuwly & Dolz, 2009), which allows us to both hierarchize central pedagogical sequences and examine teachers' actions and students' reactions in detail. In turn, it enables data reduction and serves as heuristic support for analysis. Expected results seek to enlighten how educators co-create language and interculturality in culturally diverse schools. It examines how these social actors recontextualize and mediate top-down policies to their daily realities, thus illuminating the negotiation and resemiotization of hegemonic understandings of interculturality in line with the needs of their own communities (bottom-up practices).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""]La formación de los profesores de educación especial ha transitado desde un modelo clínico, centrado en el déficit, hacia un modelo socioeducativo que se centra en la inclusión del estudiante, atendiendo sus necesidades y reconociendo sus derechos (Tenorio et al., en prensa), lo que les permite atender a la diversidad más allá del déficit. No obstante, dicha mirada no siempre se refleja en la enseñanza de las matemáticas. Por ejemplo, estudios recientes revelan que los profesores de educación especial tienden a priorizar una enseñanza funcional de las matemáticas —como el manejo del dinero o actividades prácticas— con el fin de fomentar la autonomía y la inclusión laboral de estudiantes con discapacidad intelectual (San Martin et al., 2025). Si bien este enfoque puede ser valioso, centrar la enseñanza únicamente en lo funcional limita el acceso al desarrollo del pensamiento matemático, considerado un objetivo central del currículo escolar (e.g., Schoenfeld, 2022), y puede traducirse en una forma de exclusión que ha sido calificada como deshumanizante (Tan et al., 2020). Esto se debe a que, bajo el argumento de unas matemáticas funcionales, se recorta el currículo a estudiantes que presentan discapacidad o alguna barrera para el aprendizaje (Greenstein & Baglieri, 2018). Esta tendencia se ve reforzada por el predominio de la instrucción directa en la educación especial, que reduce las matemáticas a una secuencia de procedimientos por repetir (e.g., Gersten et al., 2009; Montague & Jitendra, 2012; Schnepel & Aunio, 2021), privando a los estudiantes de oportunidades para ejercer su capacidad de pensar y participar activamente en la construcción de significado (Lambert, 2018; Tan et al., 2020). En este contexto, este proyecto apunta a dos factores que podrían apoyar la superación de esta problemática: (a) el conocimiento matemático para la enseñanza de profesores de educación especial y (b) el uso de este conocimiento en tareas situadas, como atender al pensamiento matemático de los estudiantes. Para abordar este propósito, nos apoyamos en el conocimiento profesional para enseñar matemáticas, entendido en este trabajo a partir de tres constructos teóricos: (a) el conocimiento para la enseñanza de las matemáticas, desde dos perspectivas diferentes y complementarias —el Political Conocimiento for Teaching Mathematics (PCTM; Gutiérrez, 2012, 2017) y el Mathematics Teacher Specialised Knowledge (MTSK; Carrillo et al., 2018)—, y (b) el noticing multidimensional para la equidad (van Es & Sherin, 2021, 2022). La racionalidad de esta decisión radica en que los diversos modelos sobre el conocimiento del profesorado han evidenciado la complejidad de la relación entre el conocimiento matemático y su despliegue en las distintas prácticas que configuran la enseñanza de esta disciplina (Llinares, 2019). En este sentido, la investigación en torno al conocimiento del profesor de matemáticas se ha desarrollado principalmente desde dos enfoques (Depaepe et al., 2013; Kaiser et al., 2017): por un lado, una perspectiva cognitiva, que ha dado lugar a marcos teóricos que distinguen analíticamente distintas facetas del conocimiento; y, por otro, una perspectiva situada, que concibe el conocimiento docente como dinámico, emergente de la práctica y movilizado a través de la reflexión y la interacción en el aula. En este proyecto optamos por integrar ambas perspectivas, ya que, por una parte, están respaldadas teórica y empíricamente (Cenigz et al., 2011; Thomas et al., 2017) y, por otra, su articulación permite avanzar hacia una comprensión más holística del conocimiento profesional del profesorado que enseña matemáticas (Kaiser et al., 2014; Santagata & Yeh, 2016; Stahnke et al., 2016). Desde este marco, nos planteamos dos preguntas de investigación: ¿cómo se desarrolla el PCTM y el MTSK de los profesores de educación especial?, y ¿cómo se desarrolla el noticing multidimensional para la equidad en estos profesores? Estas preguntas se concretizan en el siguiente objetivo general: caracterizar el proceso de desarrollo del conocimiento profesional para enseñar matemáticas del profesorado de educación especial durante un curso de formación continua. Para el logro de este objetivo se ha diseñado una investigación basada en el diseño (Cobb et al., 2016; Molina et al., 2011). De manera general, este diseño contempla un primer año destinado a la revisión de la literatura, el diseño general del curso y de las entrevistas, la formación del facilitador y una primera recogida de datos mediante entrevistas. La implementación del curso de desarrollo profesional se realizará principalmente durante el segundo y tercer año. En el segundo año, el foco estará puesto en el desarrollo del PCTM y el MTSK mediante dos sesiones mensuales durante diez meses. Al finalizar este periodo, se repetirán las entrevistas personales con los participantes, ahora centradas en el desarrollo del PCTM y el MTSK. Durante el tercer año, el proyecto contempla la implementación de un club de video que seguirá el formato propuesto por van Es y Sherin (2008). Concretamente, se realizarán diez reuniones mensuales en las que se reflexionará en torno al marco del noticing multidimensional para la equidad (van Es & Sherin, 2022). Finalmente, durante el cuarto año, se realizará una tercera recogida de datos mediante entrevistas orientadas a indagar tanto el desarrollo del noticing como el uso de los modelos PCTM y MTSK. Estas entrevistas permitirán dar cuenta del proceso completo y serán analizadas en contraste con las dos recogidas previas. En este curso de desarrollo profesional participarán profesores de educación especial que se desempeñen actualmente en cursos de 1.º a 6.º básico, provenientes de cuatro contextos escolares en los que se despliega la educación especial: (a) escuelas para estudiantes sordos, (b) escuelas para estudiantes ciegos, (c) escuelas para estudiantes con TEA y (d) escuelas regulares con Programa de Integración Escolar (PIE). Los resultados esperables de este proyecto permitirán identificar áreas de conocimiento crítico que los profesores de educación especial necesitan para desempeñar con éxito la docencia en matemáticas. En este sentido, los hallazgos podrán orientar ajustes o propuestas para los programas de formación inicial docente, focalizando en aquellos aspectos que, tanto la literatura como los propios profesores en servicio, consideran necesarios para su desempeño profesional.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""]In this project, police empowerment is preliminarily defined as the process by which police forces are granted powers or see their existing powers expanded through legal mandates (e.g., laws that grant police forces with more attributions or discretion), institutional and administrative capacities (e.g., budget increase), and social perceptions (e.g., citizens’ and authorities’ perceptions and support for police empowerment, as well as police officers’ self-empowerment). Existing research has largely focused on isolated dimensions of this process—either legal, institutional, or perceptual—but has not addressed how these interact or differ in their consequences. This project addresses this gap by (a) proposing a multidimensional, contextually grounded, conceptual and operational definition of police empowerment and analyzing how its different components—moderated by accountability—affect public security and order, and the potential for police abuse. To achieve these goals, we adopt a multi-method design composed of six interrelated studies. These include expert interviews (Study 1), a longitudinal panel survey with citizens (EPSEP, Study 2), secondary data analysis (legal, institutional/administrative and authorities’ discourse analysis, Study 3), interviews with police officers (Study 4), a quasi-experimental study of the effect of key moments of empowerment (e.g., the enactment of a new law increasing police power, Study 5) on the aforementioned consequences, and an experimental study with police personnel (Study 6). Study 2 will also enable longitudinal, quasi- experimental (via a rolling cross-sectional design), and experimental analyses of the effects of police empowerment among citizens.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""]In this project, police empowerment is preliminarily defined as the process by which police forces are granted powers or see their existing powers expanded through legal mandates (e.g., laws that grant police forces with more attributions or discretion), institutional and administrative capacities (e.g., budget increase), and social perceptions (e.g., citizens’ and authorities’ perceptions and support for police empowerment, as well as police officers’ self-empowerment). Existing research has largely focused on isolated dimensions of this process—either legal, institutional, or perceptual—but has not addressed how these interact or differ in their consequences. This project addresses this gap by (a) proposing a multidimensional, contextually grounded, conceptual and operational definition of police empowerment and analyzing how its different components—moderated by accountability—affect public security and order, and the potential for police abuse. To achieve these goals, we adopt a multi-method design composed of six interrelated studies. These include expert interviews (Study 1), a longitudinal panel survey with citizens (EPSEP, Study 2), secondary data analysis (legal, institutional/administrative and authorities’ discourse analysis, Study 3), interviews with police officers (Study 4), a quasi-experimental study of the effect of key moments of empowerment (e.g., the enactment of a new law increasing police power, Study 5) on the aforementioned consequences, and an experimental study with police personnel (Study 6). Study 2 will also enable longitudinal, quasi- experimental (via a rolling cross-sectional design), and experimental analyses of the effects of police empowerment among citizens.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""]Avocado is a very nutritious and tasty fruit, characteristics that have caused a high global demand for this fruit. Increasing evidence of health benefits of the avocado is both driving increased consumption and stimulating research. The results of this study are expected not only to provide more foundation into the agronomic, biochemical and molecular aspects associated to waterlogging of ‘Hass’ avocados grafted on different rootstocks but also provide potential biomarkers and genes involved in stress tolerance and select the best suited rootstocks for the current and the upcoming extreme climate change events, which may help to implement new Hass avocado production protocols that will reduce this predicted climate change problem in practice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""].[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""].[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""]The phenomenon of a soft liquid drop eroding a hard stone surface over time, immortalized in the ancient proverb «dripping water wears away the stone,» presents a profound mechanical puzzle. While craters are common imprints of high-energy events, those formed by persistent, low-energy water dripping are exceptional. The impact energy of a single drop is far below the threshold required to plastically deform or fracture the material, yet erosion occurs. This project seeks to answer the fundamental question: How can water erode stone through dripping and create distinctive craters? While recent advancements in drop-impact dynamics have revealed that an impacting drop generates propagating fronts of intense, singular pressure and shear, these theories were developed for ideal, non-porous surfaces and are insufficient to explain the erosion. Our preliminary experimental work—which has successfully reproduced water-dripping craters on gypsum targets while failing to erode non-porous materials—points to a crucial, previously overlooked element: the porous nature of the target material. We discovered that erosion and the formation of a distinct surface microstructure of pores commence only after the substrate becomes fully saturated with water. This key finding suggests that the complex interaction between the impact-induced flow and the internal, liquid-filled pore structure is the primary driver of the erosion mechanism. This project will establish the first comprehensive experimental and theoretical framework for slow erosion in porous ma- terials by water dripping. We will investigate three potential and non-exclusive micro-mechanisms. The first is low-Reynolds accumulative erosion, where the impact pressure pumps liquid into the matrix, generating high shear stress along pore walls that slowly abrades material, a process whose rate is expected to be proportional to the wall shear stress. The second is the inter-pore propagation of pressure shocks; because the surface pressure front arrives at adjacent pore openings at slightly different times, large pressure gradients are generated within the saturated matrix, inducing mechanical fatigue and failure of inter-pore walls. The third is cavitation bursts, where the negative-pressure front trailing the initial impact shock— akin to an explosion’s blast wave—causes the formation and violent collapse of vapor bubbles. These collapses generate localized but highly destructive shock waves, a process potentially detectable via acoustic emissions. Our methodology integrates a novel, multi-scale experimental approach with robust theoretical modeling. An automated, custom-built setup, featuring a syringe pump for precise drop control and a photo-gate for impact counting and synchroniza- tion, tracks crater evolution over tens of thousands of reproducible impacts. An automated translation stage will move the sample between the impact zone and a characterization chamber for on-the-run 3D shape reconstruction via high-resolution laser profilometry and for mass measurement via an integrated load cell. This will be complemented by a suite of characteriza- tion techniques, including high-speed imaging to capture rare ejecta events, microscopic surface imaging, and advanced bulk imaging (X-ray Micro-Tomography, Scanning Electron Microscopy or Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) to visualize the internal 3D pore network and wear propagation. Experiments will mainly utilize natural materials like gypsum and selenite, as well as custom-fabricated synthetic porous samples (e.g., PDMS). These transparent, engineered samples will allow for direct flow visualization via Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to isolate and study specific mechanisms in a controlled environment. The theoretical work will couple established models for drop-impact pressure distributions with frameworks for flow in porous media, wall-shear erosion, and wave propagation. The goal is to develop predictive formulae for crater growth rates and their scaling with fluid and material properties, which can be validated against our extensive experimental data. By leveraging the research team’s expertise in drop-impact forces and tackling this 2,500-year-old question, this project will provide novel insights into fluid-solid interactions, wear on porous materials, and landscape evolution. It moves beyond prior studies, which used simplified substrates, to address the central role of porosity in this long-unsolved problem in continuum physics.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

[vc_section el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center circle--pattern" css=".vc_custom_1648956589196{padding-top: 3rem !important;}"][vc_row el_class="pb-5"][vc_column][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu="6"][uoh_breadcrumb_component automatic_breadcrumb="true"][uoh_title_component title_dropdown="big" title_decorator="true"]{{title}}[/uoh_title_component][vc_column_text css=""]The phenomenon of a soft liquid drop eroding a hard stone surface over time, immortalized in the ancient proverb «dripping water wears away the stone,» presents a profound mechanical puzzle. While craters are common imprints of high-energy events, those formed by persistent, low-energy water dripping are exceptional. The impact energy of a single drop is far below the threshold required to plastically deform or fracture the material, yet erosion occurs. This project seeks to answer the fundamental question: How can water erode stone through dripping and create distinctive craters? While recent advancements in drop-impact dynamics have revealed that an impacting drop generates propagating fronts of intense, singular pressure and shear, these theories were developed for ideal, non-porous surfaces and are insufficient to explain the erosion. Our preliminary experimental work—which has successfully reproduced water-dripping craters on gypsum targets while failing to erode non-porous materials—points to a crucial, previously overlooked element: the porous nature of the target material. We discovered that erosion and the formation of a distinct surface microstructure of pores commence only after the substrate becomes fully saturated with water. This key finding suggests that the complex interaction between the impact-induced flow and the internal, liquid-filled pore structure is the primary driver of the erosion mechanism. This project will establish the first comprehensive experimental and theoretical framework for slow erosion in porous ma- terials by water dripping. We will investigate three potential and non-exclusive micro-mechanisms. The first is low-Reynolds accumulative erosion, where the impact pressure pumps liquid into the matrix, generating high shear stress along pore walls that slowly abrades material, a process whose rate is expected to be proportional to the wall shear stress. The second is the inter-pore propagation of pressure shocks; because the surface pressure front arrives at adjacent pore openings at slightly different times, large pressure gradients are generated within the saturated matrix, inducing mechanical fatigue and failure of inter-pore walls. The third is cavitation bursts, where the negative-pressure front trailing the initial impact shock— akin to an explosion’s blast wave—causes the formation and violent collapse of vapor bubbles. These collapses generate localized but highly destructive shock waves, a process potentially detectable via acoustic emissions. Our methodology integrates a novel, multi-scale experimental approach with robust theoretical modeling. An automated, custom-built setup, featuring a syringe pump for precise drop control and a photo-gate for impact counting and synchroniza- tion, tracks crater evolution over tens of thousands of reproducible impacts. An automated translation stage will move the sample between the impact zone and a characterization chamber for on-the-run 3D shape reconstruction via high-resolution laser profilometry and for mass measurement via an integrated load cell. This will be complemented by a suite of characteriza- tion techniques, including high-speed imaging to capture rare ejecta events, microscopic surface imaging, and advanced bulk imaging (X-ray Micro-Tomography, Scanning Electron Microscopy or Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) to visualize the internal 3D pore network and wear propagation. Experiments will mainly utilize natural materials like gypsum and selenite, as well as custom-fabricated synthetic porous samples (e.g., PDMS). These transparent, engineered samples will allow for direct flow visualization via Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to isolate and study specific mechanisms in a controlled environment. The theoretical work will couple established models for drop-impact pressure distributions with frameworks for flow in porous media, wall-shear erosion, and wave propagation. The goal is to develop predictive formulae for crater growth rates and their scaling with fluid and material properties, which can be validated against our extensive experimental data. By leveraging the research team’s expertise in drop-impact forces and tackling this 2,500-year-old question, this project will provide novel insights into fluid-solid interactions, wear on porous materials, and landscape evolution. It moves beyond prior studies, which used simplified substrates, to address the central role of porosity in this long-unsolved problem in continuum physics.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649209804184{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center p-md-0 pt-5"][vc_column el_class="p-0"][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section css=".vc_custom_1649210787516{background-color: #f6faff !important;}" el_class="p-md-0 pt-md-5 pb-md-5"][vc_row el_class="container mx-auto align-items-center"][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]