Single Phase and Multiphase Thermal Fluid-dynamics
Research focus
The Peer review has evaluated this group as Average
Current research aims at supplying basic knowledge and operating tools for modeling thermal-fluid dynamic processes included phase-transitions and two-phase flows, as well as providing solutions to engineering problems in fluid dynamic and heat transfer design for a wide range of applications such as energy and refrigeration systems, electronic cooling, biomedical processes. In recent years, problems related to thermal-fluid dynamics have come back to play a key role in the design of any equipment where energy is produced or transferred or simply used. This is essentially for two factors, i.e., a more efficient use of energy and the development of technologies with low environmental impact. Behind the applied and technological research, hard work is currently carried out on fundamental aspects of the matter to have a thorough knowledge of the investigated phenomena and moreover to gain suggestions for new improvements. These basic studies are performed by means of numerical methods and primarily of experimental techniques; the latter, in some cases, results particularly advanced at least within national field. The main research fields are summarized in the following: - Single-phase Thermal-Fluid dynamics. Heat transfer augmentation in forced convection. Design methods for compact heat exchangers with extended surfaces of various geometry (plain, wavy, perforated, louvered and off-strip fins). Velocity and temperature measurements with non intrusive methods such as LDV and optical methods. Surface temperature measurement and stress analysis by means of infrared thermography. Heat transfer between sessile/impinging droplets and smooth/microfinned surfaces: measurement of temperatures, heat fluxes and their time evolution. Liquid- surface interaction: measurements/certification of wettability, static/dynamic contact angles, roughness profiles and related statistical parameters. - Multi-phase flow. Gas-Liquid: flow structure analysis in ducts with geometric singularities (valves, sudden area changes, bends and fittings) by means of pressure drop and local and average void fraction measurement in 2D- 3D domains, velocity measurement of the dispersed phase. Calculation methods for flow in pipes of complex geometry. Gas-Solid: efficiency enhancement of industrial gas cleaners (electrostatic precipitators, selective catalytic reactors, desulfurators), by local measurements of velocity and concentration, flow regularization. Liquid-Liquid: reduction of pumping power by injection of water in high viscosity fluids (heavy oils). Effect of the wettability of the ducts wall. - Two-phase Thermal-Fluid dynamics. Enhancement of heat transfer in flow-boiling and convective condensation of new refrigerants. Flow visualization, flow patterns recognition and data correlation. - Computational Fluid Dynamics. Optimal thermal-fluid dynamic design of heat equipments for industrial applications; in-depth analysis of local effects. Application of commercial CFD software, with special attention to modeling turbulence in non isothermal, reacting or multiphase flow, by implementing via subroutines additional models for the solution of specific problems. Implementation of strategies for automatic parametric optimization; methods for coupling software based on different approaches, to solve problems where thermal-fluid dynamics is affected by complex physical phenomena, such as electromagnetic, thermoelectric effects. CFD technology is also used to support the experimental activities of the above mentioned research fields.
Dipartimento di afferenza
Docenti afferenti
Full Professors
Sergio Arosio
Adriano Muzzio
Alfonso Niro
Giorgio Sotgia
Associate Professors
Fabio Inzoli
Assistant Professors
Emanuela Colombo
Luigi Colombo
Manfredo Guilizzoni
Michele Mantegna
Antonio Salerno