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Group members

The expertise and strengths of the Group members include both, the experimental and analytical/numerical field focussing on various aspects of fluid flow and heat transfer, from the nano to the macro scale with applications to industrial thermal systems, aerospace, energy generation, process industries as well as carbon capture and utilisation.

Members of the Group specialise in both, fundamental and applied research in single and two-phase heat transfer with the latter involving both, pool and flow boiling and condensation processes.

 

Leader(s)

Professor Tassos Karayiannis Professor Tassos Karayiannis EDUCATION PhD Engineering Science, Convective Heat Transfer, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. BSc (hons) Mechanical Engineering , City University, London, UK. EMPLOYMENT 2020-present Director, Centre for Energy Efficient and Sustainable Technologies, Brunel Univ. London 2018-present Research Group Leader, Two-Phase flow and Heat Transfer, Brunel University London 2017-2020 Research Theme Leader, Energy Efficient and Sustainable Technologies, Brunel Univ. London 2014-2017 Vice Dean Education, College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel Univ. London 2005-2014 Deputy Head of School of Engineering and Design, Brunel University London 2004-2005 Head of Department of Engineering Systems, London South Bank University 2001-2003 Head of Division of Environmental and Energy Engineering, London South Bank University 1993-2001 Head of Research, School of Engineering Systems and Design, London South Bank University 1998 Professor of Engineering; 1996 Reader in Mechanical Engineering; 1993 Principal Lecturer (Thermofluids); 1989 Senior Lecturer; 1988 Lecturer, London South Bank University 1994-1996 Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow; 1988-1994 Honorary Visiting Fellow, City University. 1986-1988 British Technology Group Research Fellow, Electrohydrodynamic Enhancement of Boiling and Condensation in Heat Exchangers, City University. 1986 Research Fellow, Cavitation Erosion, University of Southampton. 1981-1986 Teaching Assistant, The University of Western Ontario. Single-phase Heat Transfer Boiling and Condensation Heat transfer Enhancement Techniques in Heat Transfer Heat Transfer in micro-passages Heat Exchangers Thermal Systems, Refrigeration, Renewables - Geothermal Thermodynamics Thermofluids, Heat and Mass Transfer Research Methods

Members

Dr Francesco Coletti Dr Francesco Coletti
Email Dr Francesco Coletti Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering
Dr. Francesco Coletti is a Senior Lecturer (part-time) in Chemical Engineering and a member of the founding team of the Chemical Engineering Department at Brunel University London. He is also a co-founder and the CEO of Hexxcell Ltd., a London based technology company providing predictive analytics and prescriptive maintenance solutions for industrial heat transfer systems to major international oil&gas and petrochemical companies. His expertise and research interests are at the intersection of the two exciting fields of Process Systems Engineering and Heat Transfer with focus on modelling, optimisation and predictive maintenance of energy systems. In these fields, he has published ~40 peer-reviewed papers and conference proceedings, 2 Special Issues, 2 patents and a monograph. He is also the Executive Editor of Heat Exchanger Design Handbook. Francesco has a track-record in industrial research having worked and consulted for a number of Fortune 500 companies (e.g. Praxair, USA) and in technology transfer having developed a commercialised software to the oil&gas industry and served as Industry Engagement Manager for Imperial Consultants. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute, a Director of the Fuels&Petrochemical Division of the American Institution of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Secretary of the UK National Heat Transfer Committee and a Member of the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conferences. He initiated, and is the Chair of, the Topical Series on Heat Exchangers held every two years at the AIChE Spring Meeting. He holds a Laurea degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy, an MSc in Process Systems Engineering from Imperial College London and a PhD in Chemical Engineering also from Imperial College London which he earned in 2010, winning the Departmental Newitt Prize for theoretical and computational excellence and the College-wide award for excellence in research in fuel production. Heat Transfer Process Systems Engineering Machine Learning
Professor Atanas Ivanov Professor Atanas Ivanov
Email Professor Atanas Ivanov Professor of Advanced Engineering Design
Dr Ivanov world-leading expertise in non-traditional manufacturing spans over a decade of innovating and developing new technologies. In 2007 he was registered by GUINNESS BOOK RECORD for drilling the smallest hole in the world ø22µm 10 aspect ratio. From 2008 Dr Ivanov was the only producer of samples for cryogenic sensors from InSb for the European space programme and NASA. In 2009 he designed of the control of the mirrors for HERCHEL and PLANCK satellites and the sampler (ISOSAMPLER) for NASA for their ‘Medusa’ project for Mars and Jupiter missions. Dr Ivanov registered a world patent for using cutting tools as measuring probes as part of his work fr the Basque government in 2010. After joining Brunel he developed the first in the world micro electrochemical drilling machine for the fuel injection systems for BMW (SONPLAS). In 2013 Dr Ivanov built the first µECM milling machine. In the last 10 years Dr Ivanov acquired 15 grants and an income of over £1m as PI only, and an additional income as a collaborator. In 2018 he received an Innovate UK grant for developing a technology for the identification of airplane fasteners. Dr Ivanov is a world-leading specialist in µECM machining technology. In 2019/20 he developed world-leading µECM technology for sharpening glaucoma needles.
Dr Edward Smith Dr Edward Smith
Email Dr Edward Smith Senior Lecturer in Fluid Dynamics
Edward Smith (www.edwardsmith.co.uk) is a researcher working on multi-scale methods combining particle and continuum simulation. He earned his PhD at Imperial College London, developing theoretical and computational techniques for the coupled simulation of molecular dynamics (MD) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). After his PhD, he was awarded the post-doctoral excellence fellowship and published the first ever molecular dynamics simulation of near-wall turbulence. He spent time in Swinburne Australia working with experts in non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and statistical mechanics, before moving to Chemical Engineering at Imperial to work on multi-phase flow and the moving contact line. His next move was to Civil Engineering at Imperial to develop software (www.cpl-library.org), linking particles and continuum flows for granular systems. He recently took up a position at Brunel University London as a lecturer in fluid dynamics. Fluid Dynamics Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Molecular Dynamics (MD) Coupled and multiscale simulation linking CFD and MD A developing idea: a complete 1D Navier-Stokes Solver on one page. Using Jupyter notebook to explain the complete discretisation of the Navier Stokes equations in 1D, explaining the simplest possible case (1D) how we can discretise our equations, issues with osciallations, (eventually) boundary conditions and the fractional step pressure solver. Multi-Scale Modelling Here are the notes for the continuum part of the multi-scale modelling course I taught 2017 and 2018. This was for masters students who have a background in a mathematical subject. Slides for the lectures, part one notes and part two notes two, as well as background notes. The lectures are available: Part one video, introduction to the continuum, differential equations and numerical solutions. Part two video, review of part one, more differential equations and an overview of the steps which lead the the Navier-Stokes equation. A white-board derivation video of the Navier-Stokes equation considering the link to molecular systems. Python Intro Course In order to address the lack of general Python teaching here at Imperial, I put together and gave a three part introduction course through the HPC support here at Imperial. This class was aimed at beginners and also for those who want to switch from Matlab to Python. Introduction to Python for scientific computing, 3/3/17 (Video) (Slides) (Solutions) Motivation for using Python. Introduction to programming in Python Python concepts (lists, iterators, etc) and discussion of the differences to other languages. Scientific libraries numpy and matplotlib. Examples of usage for scientific problems. Further details of the Python language, 10/3/17 (Video) (Slides) (Solutions) More on Python data structures: concepts like references, immutable, lists, data organisation with Dictionaries and numpy arrays. Use of functions and design of interfaces. Introduction to classes and objects. Structuring a project, importing modules and writing tests. Examples of usage for scientific problems. Python libraries, 17/3/17 (Video) (Slides) (Solutions) Using Python to read files (ascii, binary, hp5) and plot. Running parameter studies by calling executables repeatedly with subprocess. Designing a basic Graphical User Interface. Unit testing frameworks and version control. Other libraries and how to wrap your own code from fortran, c++, etc Further course details are available on my website:
Dr Salman Masoudi Soltani Dr Salman Masoudi Soltani
Email Dr Salman Masoudi Soltani Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering
I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor in the US system) in Chemical Engineering. In May 2017, I joined Brunel University London as a founding member of the new Chemical Engineering Department, on the team in charge of the design and development of the Programme. I am a Chartered Engineer (CEng/MIChemE) with both industrial and academic research backgrounds in chemical and process engineering. I am also a Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA), UK, and the Postgraduate Research Director with the Department of Chemical Engineering. My research area is mainly centred on Separation Processes (Experimental & Process Design/Modelling). I have led a number of major research projects on and around carbon capture and hydrogen production, funded via Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC), and the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), along with a number of industrial consultancy projects, the details of which have been included under the "Research" tab of this profile. In 2022, my research was featured in the prestigious Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)' magazine (The Chemical Engineer). You can find more about my research group & research laboratory by visiting my research group website. I am also serving as the technical advisor with JET Engineering (Anionix). Before joining Brunel University London, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Department of Chemical Engineering (Clean Fossil & Bioenergy Research Group) at Imperial College London, UK (07/2015 – 05/2017), contributing to several EPSRC as well as EU- and OECD-consultancy projects (Opening New Fuels for UK Generation; Gas-FACTS; CO2QUEST) in the realms of biomass combustion and the modelling and optimisation of CO2 capture & utilisation processes - in Professor Paul Fennell's research group and in collaboration with Professor Niall Mac Dowell and Professor Nilay Shah. In March 2017, I received the prestigious endorsement as the Exceptional Talent in Chemical Engineering by the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK. Prior to this, I worked as a Postdoctoral Knowledge Transfer Partnership Research Associate with Dr Shenyi Wu (Fluids and Thermal Engineering Research Group) at the University of Nottingham, UK (08/2013 – 07/2015), during which, I was fully based at A-Gas International ltd. production site in Bristol (UK), where I worked as a Project/Process Engineer on a major joint engineering research and process design project, involving the research, front end engineering design (FEED), detailed design, and development of a bespoke industrial-scale gas separation process. I was awarded the University of Nottingham Scholarship to study for a PhD in Chemical Engineering (2011 - 2014). I conducted my research with the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus where I studied the effects of pyrolysis conditions on the structure of porous carbonaceous adsorbents synthesised from recycled waste, and the effect of subsequent surface modification on heavy metal removal from aqueous media. Adsorption Processes Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) Combined Hydrogen Production and Carbon Capture Processes Separation Processes (Experimental & Process Design/Modelling) CL2605 – Chemical Reaction Engineering (module leader) CL2607 – Separation Processes 1 (module leader) CL1620 – Chemical Engineering Introduction (Thermodynamics Section) BE1603 – Engineering Systems and Energy (Thermodynamics Section) ME1301 – Fundamentals of Thermofluids (Thermodynamics Section) ME3309 – Major Individual Project
Dr James Tyacke Dr James Tyacke
Email Dr James Tyacke Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering (Aerodynamics)
As Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering, I am primarily interested in Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of complex flows including Urban Air Mobility Vehicles (Air Taxis), Jet Aeroacoustics, Turbomachinery, Electronics Cooling and Geothermal Energy. Multi-fidelity modelling underpins these areas, both in terms of turbulence modelling and geometry representation. Modern High Performance Computing (HPC) architectures are also being leveraged for both simulation and analysis of large data sets (Big Data), revealing unsteady flow physics. Further interests include increasing CFD automation, including mesh generation and optimisation, solution analysis and feedback into knowledge-based systems using Machine Learning and AI. I am currently looking for students to complete a PhD under EPSRC DTP funding at Brunel University London or those who are self-funded. A range of projects are possible, focusing on multi-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Example projects: DTP funding details: Research degree funding: External funding: My interests lie in tackling challenging (often) complex geometry flows using LES and HPC and the use of hybrid LES-RANS to reduce computational cost. Wider research includes solver technology, utilising both second and higher order numerical methods to enable selective application of the best tools for industrial use and to understand detailed flow physics. Detailed datasets can then also be exploited to improve lower order design modelling. I am currently focused on Urban Air Mobility Vehicle and Geothermal Energy. I have recently investigated installed jet engine aeroacoustics using LES, solving challenges such as the use of the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings method for complex geometry installed ultra-high bypass ratio jets under flight conditions. Previously I have pioneered engine-airframe coupling where an engine with bypass duct internal geometry generates resolved turbulence and is coupled to a jet-pylon-wing-flap geometry. To reveal noise generation mechanisms I am developing parallel analytical tools for 3D unsteady datasets.Previously I investigated LES of turbine zones. Flows studied included internal cooling, labyrinth seals and LPT/HPT blades. This investigation defined where LES is suitable and affordable relative to rig testing. It also provided a flow categorisation and framework for performing LES in industry, identifying future challenges.During my PhD, I studied conjugate heat transfer for an array of heated cubes and convective heat transfer within ribbed ducts and within a large electronics system enclosure. For these I tested a wide range of linear and non-linear RANS models, linear and mixed non-linear LES sub-grid scale models, hybrid LES-RANS and high order central and upwind spatial discretisations. Aerospace MSc Course Director ME5681 (prev. ME5563) Aerospace MSc group design projects (module leader and supervisor) ME3621 Applied Fluid Dynamics (and CFD) ME2619 Aerodynamics ME5500 Mechanical/Aerospace/Automotive Engineering MSc dissertation supervision ME3620 (prev. ME3309/3399) Mechanical/Aerospace/Automotive Engineering final year dissertation supervision BE1707 Statics and Dynamics

Visiting Academics

Professor John Thome
Emeritus Professor of Heat and Mass Transfer, Ecole Polytechique Fédérale de Lausanne & Technical Director, JJ Cooling Innovation Sarl
Professor David Reay
David Reay and Associates
Professor Simone Mancin
University of Padova
Professor Mohammad Kalbassi
Visiting Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering